A native Midwesterner, I have lived in Michigan and Ohio all my life (except when I was ten and we moved to New Mexico for 4 months while my dad "tried out" winter construction work in the Southwest).

Another constant in my life has been writing: a reporter for my grade school's occasional newsletter; in the "journalism program" in ninth grade and on the junior high newspaper; high school newspaper staff. No surprise, then, that I graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English Literature. A detour along the way took me through two years of architecture school and fostered a lifelong interest in design.

As it so often does, life intervened. I married my college sweetheart, a math major (now a professional "computer guy") who was, and is, the analytical left brain foil to my right brain creative spirit. We moved to Cleveland, then to Grand Rapids, and I pursued many jobs over the years: retouching artist; accounting clerk; proofreader for a Big Eight accounting firm; a retail assistant manager; community relations liaison for a Cleveland suburb; and a designer/fabricator of custom work for a flag store.

Sometimes I proofread audit reviews and annual reports, sometimes I wrote press releases and newsletters for city hall. Somehow, I was always associated with writing. If it wasn't at work, then I wrote articles for club newsletters, or taught my daughter fine points of writing termpapers or edited presentations my husband was working on. Some years I only crafted the best possible family newsletter at Christmas, but "it was always something" (in the words of the immortal Roseanne Roseannadanna).

There came a time to revisit writing when I lost my job last year. Our daughter is grown and living in Memphis to pursue a career and write a life story for herself. Inventing a new persona for a new phase of my life seemed apt, and Helium was great place to explore and hone my writing skills while getting feedback and experiencing a whole community of writers of all levels.

It turned out that Helium was a good place to be at a good time. With increased confidence in my writing, I joined a friend, an out-of-work graphics designer, and after a few months of groundwork, we started a bimonthly free-distribution magazine about local food in our little corner of the Midwest. One issue is behind us as I write this, another just off to the printer, and we have recently gone online.

Reception from the local food community has been encouraging, and many seem to think this is a magazine that really fills a previously unmet need. Time will tell, life is an adventure, and much gratitude goes to Helium. Without the opportunity to write and the helpful and supportive crew here, I'd guess I'd never have thought I could do this!

My passion is ...

reading, writing, design

I know too much about ...

Cancer survival (mine and my husband's)

My parents always told me ...

Discretion is the better part of valor. (Don't ask! Often repeated, never explained)

My childhood ambition ...

Write children's books

My favorite memory ...

Family vacations with our daughter, especially in New England

Why I write ...

Because I always knew I could

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

World Without End, Ken Follett; latest "Spenser" mystery by Robert B. Parker/saw "Juno,"great flick!/silence, it's the middle of the night and I'm the only one awake

My first job ...

Summer job working in a very small architectural office

My best moment ...

When my daughter told me, a few years ago, that she really appreciated the way we had raised her

My inspiration ...

The fearlessness of my wonderful and fiercely independent daughter!

Home & Garden > Architecture Bauhaus defined

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In the very literal sense, the name Bauhaus comes from German words meaning "construction" and "house." In practice, the Bauhaus was a design school formed in 1919 in the aftermath of World War I as Germany sought to reinvent itself after the devastating blow dealt its monarchy. If turbulent times define the form that an organization takes, then the Bauhaus was very much a product of its time. Throughout its history, the school changed philosophies, directors and locations in its fourteen-year existence. The first director was Walter Gropius, an architect who came to the post with experien...

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