About Lawless Needle

I retired from a 35-year career as a structured finance lawyer at a large Toronto firm at the end of 2018 to devote myself to a creative life. Going lawless didn't hurt a bit. OK, it hurt a bit because, unsurprisingly perhaps, quilting does not pay as well as practicing law. The lawless aspect of my artistic life does not refer to entering into a life of crime to support my fabric-buying addiction. It simply means that I don't feel constrained, at least at this early stage in my artistic venture, to focus on a particular technique, style, or process.

I work from my home studio in Toronto and my beachfront studio in Port Elgin, Ontario. I'm greatly influenced by the natural environment of Lake Huron with the dramatic lake, the beaches, farms, gardens and parks.

My work combines complex piece work, appliqué, hand embroidery, a bit of paint and ink, prints and solids, my hand-dyed textiles and 3-D quilting. While I appreciate a minimalist work, I can't seem to make one. I need a colour explosion. No inner meaning, no expression of my angst, nothing deep. I just strive to make work that is colourful and beautiful.