Overseas, 48"(L) x 58"(W), 2002
Heat transfers of Congo, Africa and Kinshasa maps, painted and embroidered, images, history and news text and stamps.  Also:  brocade, satin, velvet and sheers, stitched.

A brief history of the Democratic Republic of Congo is embroidered on the borders. In 1971-72, my family moved to Kinshasa, capital of what was then Zaire. Zaire was colonized by the Belgians until 1960. I was a junior in high school and my sisters and I attended the American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) along with children of missionaries, US military and State Department, and wealthy merchant families fleeing political turmoil in other African countries such as Kenya and the Cameroons. We lived in a comfortable air conditioned cement block house in a compound with other French, Belgian and US doctors' families. The neighborhood was surrounded by a tall concrete wall and barbed wire fence guarded by sentries at each corner. It was uphill from the Congo River rapids and below the dictator Mobutu's military camp. We listened to Watergate news on the BBC and VOA. The US propped up Mobutu during the cold war. He executed his rivals and deposited the riches of the country's mineral wealth in Swiss bank accounts.

Honroable Mention, Florida Combined Talents 2007
Juror Merit Award, New Jersey Center for Visual Arts International Show, 2004