About Me

Oh, where to start? Writing is not my area of expertise. I am a visual person and can communicate far better with pictures, but since you are reading this, I will tell you a little about me.

I am a college graduate nearing the end of a 30-year career in the graphic art field. I illustrate, design, and produce graphic arts on the computer and off. My second career has always been anything to do with textiles. Sewing, stitching, dying, draping, knitting, embroidering, etc etc. I also collect old lace, buttons, patterns, and fabric. I love to be touching an item that was created by someone long ago. It makes me feel so rich and warm.

Creating art is what I have always done from the time I was very small. My imagination (fueled by reading good stories and observing the tiniest details of everything around me) is constantly going. If you tell me a story, I see it as pictures in my mind. I want to create these pictures to share with everyone. When I start creating something I can't stop until it matches the vision in my minds eye. I guess it fulfills some inner desire that comes from deep inside of me (my heart?, my soul?). If I have to learn a new technique or purchase a piece of equipment or travel someplace, I do it.

The creation of the button technique I am using has taken me over 12 years to develop. At this time, they cannot be mass-produced. Each image is carefully selected and must be worked on in photoshop to bring out the details and get the best possible croppings. Getting the images printed on fabric and mounted onto the button shells is time-consuming and takes great care. They are created one at a time.

I started them because I was inspired to give my daughter's 4th-grade teacher a special gift at the end of the school year party. I made her a coat with a picture of each of her students on the buttons down the front. She was delighted and I became obsessed with making the buttons for other things that I sew. I wanted the buttons to have more detail so I experimented with many different methods and different types of equipment. Over time I have used outside sources for different aspects of their production but have come to the conclusion that it is best if each button is created as a piece of art. The images on the buttons are individually picked because of the memory it evokes or the laugh it brings or just the admiration of a truly beautiful piece of art.

The other pieces of art on my site are created in much the same way. They always start with a vision and then a compelling desire to create them to match that vision. I love to work on them and I hope that you will enjoy wearing these pieces of art.

Please enjoy the buttons and use them in your own creations. Check my eBay auctions or my etsy site for buttons. I mostly list them there. If you need a special one made for you just let me know.

Rita

These buttons are a joy for me to make available for others to enjoy. If I do a custom button for you it will be done with the same attention to detail that I use on my own images.