In 2002 I saw a wonderful African textile owned by my good friend Ramona Solberg. It was a combination of weaving and appliqué; made of raffia. The piece was from the Congo region of Africa done by the Kuba people. Ethnic Arts Curator, Pam McClusky (at the Seattle Art Museum) provided me with more information on the culture and their textiles. From this inspiration I began sewing shapes in paper, cutting them out and gluing them to a background sprayed with acrylic color. Early works were too much like the African textiles. I still sewed paper to create the shapes but added new colors and a linear element of brass wire.