I guess my story begins with the birth of my first child. There's always sort of that "before" and "after" when you have kids. In my case, EVERYTHING in my life changed. My view of the world, of myself, of what I believed about life and how to raise children.

A huge part of all of my births has been the involvement of a doula and midwives. They have become part of my family, and have opened up a whole new world of birthing and motherhood that I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

As a gift to my doula before the birth of my twins, I made a pregnant belly-shaped whistle that she could use during birth classes at the hospital. She like it so much that she encouraged me to try to sell them, and eventually Belly-rinas was born.

My inspiration comes from moments during my own births and from others, as well as those intimate moments with my children as I am humbled to be able to learn from them.

Though my art isn't detailed and accurate, I hope to capture the FEELING of an act or event or emotion. Like a photograph, my sculptures elicit memories and remind us of how precious our loved ones are.

My favorite moments as a designer are when customers write me to tell me how a piece has moved them to tears, or caused their spouse to light up with a smile. THAT is the motivation that keeps me going when I struggle with thought of not being good enough or wondering if this is what I am meant to be doing.

I hope someday to become a post-partum doula, and so continue my journey in helping women and their relationships with their children.