アトリエ (atorie) is the Japanese pronunciation of the French atelier, which they use to mean “studio.” Other words are 画室 (gashitsu), 工房 (kōbō) and アートスタジオ (aato sutajio). In selecting the name for my site, I much preferred the sound of アトリエ/atorie. Needless to say, it’s in Japanese.

I’m intrigued by both language and culture and attempt to bring both of these elements together in whatever I do. Currently, I teach Japanese language at a local high school, but I also teach art through the Artist In Schools program here in North Carolina as well as in the summer youth programs offered by Artspace in downtown Raleigh. My interest and love of these crafts, colors (indigo) and language stem from having lived in Japan throughout my childhood. My parents were missionaries. In my formative years I lived in Kagoshima, located in southern Kyushu (Satsuma Prefecture). While my parents worked, I immersed myself in the surrounding environment. My closest neighbors were weavers. Their children were my playmates, so I was in their quarters almost daily. This was probably my earliest exposure to the textile arts. My own journey to textile work has been a long one. I studied art at the Maryland Institute in Baltimore and much later was introduced to textiles and dyeing at Meredith College in Raleigh. My introduction to working with indigo came through that experience, and in a sense felt a bit like a homecoming. While I do work with other mediums and colors, indigo and shibori are by far my favorite.