I graduated from Justin-Siena High School, Napa, Calif. in 1975. We are having our 50th reunion this year. Whoosh, a lifetime has sped by!
Since I enjoy organizing, I joined the reunion committee. Classmate Angela Marciano is on the committee also and she had the idea to create an artwork to gift to the school from our class. She reached out and asked me if I would be interested in creating a piece. She thought of me because she’s seen my mosaic work in the past, via social media. I liked the idea, so we did some brainstorming, and the concept for this piece was born.
The design would utilize my primary media, mosaic, with the addition of a stitched fiber component. Most of my work is non-representational, but for this piece the main focal point is a landscape. The work references the place we came from, developed our roots, learned and grew. Our time at J-S gave us a foundation on which to spread our wings and become the adults we are today, 50 years after our graduation.
The landscape is a hand-stitched fabric collage, with a knitted wire sculpture representing a dormant old grapevine. We come from a very rich land, that nurtures everything that grows there. No matter whether our classmates have stayed in the area or moved far away, I feel that our roots in this place are strong.
Sempre Avanti— Always Forward. This is the motto of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, who taught us, and for me, it’s been a guiding force in my life. The only constant is change. I try to embrace the changes, moving forward and striving to learn new things.
Sempre Avanti
Handformed sculptural substrate, fabric stitched panel, wire, various stones, vine clippings from the Napa Valley.
24 x 17 inches
2025
The Work In Progress
I had the luxury of working on this piece for five months. Because of that, I was able to do new (to me) techniques, and incorporate the various media with the stone I traditionally use.
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