Many of the pieces I create are in the fraktur tradition. Frakturs, filled with richly detailed borders and ornate script, had their heyday in Pennsylvania German culture from the mid-1700s through the mid-1800s. They are found in a wide variety of forms: writing samples, birth and baptismal certificates, marriage and house blessings, and book plates.

Reading translations of the German texts of frakturs from this era is like peeking into a window to another time. Texts celebrate the harvest and religious values, and pay attention to births, marriages, and the lives of family members. They reveal a close-knit community dedicated to tradition and to each other.

Fraktur drawings were executed in ink and/or watercolor, usually with the two essential elements of calligraphic text and related designs. While printed text became popular in later examples, the earlier pieces were created entirely by hand. Common artistic motifs include birds, hearts, and tulips. The calligraphic style can best be described as gothic or old English.

I learned the art of fraktur as a child in Mennonite schools, and completed my first commission at age 16. The pen and ink documents I create can celebrate the ordinary or milestones in life.

As an artist, my world is much bigger than the world of fraktur artists of the 1700s , and the inspiration for my designs reflect this. I can just as easily find inspiration in wallpaper of the 1960s, Greek architecture, and direct observation from nature as I can in studying works by the early fraktur artists. While I adhere to the tradition of working with ink and watercolor, my artwork constantly evolves. .

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