"I don't know exactly when the miniatures bug bit. For years and years throughout moves all over the United States I hauled around two books - Make Your Own Dollhouses and Dollhouse Miniatures by Marian Maeve O'Brien, and a Dee Delights catalogue from about 1985.

"Then one day a few years ago I was sitting at my computer doing who knows what and happened to glance at the bookshelf. Before I knew it I was online buying a dollhouse kit to build," she said.

"I think the easiest part of my work is gathering inspiration for colors in my pieces. I love color and texture and really have to work on toning myself down so that my pieces will be appealing to others and will actually fit into a scheme."

Her home in sunny - and colourful - Albuquerque, NM, seems to lend itself to a more colourful vision of life as well. But her inspirational sources extend far beyond the state's borders.

"Inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere in the universe - from a master's painting to an architectural magazine to something my five-year-old niece may have said to me. And I am always inspired by people who are just doing their thing for their own person gratification," she said.

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