Monica has been creating art with paint, beads, fabric and found objects since she was a child. Her mother, born in Sweden, filled their home with sewing, knitting and various creative projects. Monica grew up in the Netherlands, her father's native country. At age twelve, she sold her first pair of beaded earrings at a street market in Amsterdam. She's enjoyed creating and selling her work ever since.

In 1983, Monica moved to Montana to join her older brother. She soon fell in love with Montana and stayed to pursue a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Montana. Currently she lives in Missoula with her husband.

Monica's work consists of recycled glass pieces, combined with various glass, stone and metal beads. Some of the glass pieces are wrapped with copper foil and lead-free solder. She also uses hand painted and found papers that she seals behind the glass.

Earlier this week I was in a conversation about the relevance of design concepts. One of the most important for me is form follows function. Whether you are trying to decide on a type of flooring, the furniture arrangement in your living room or designing a new kitchen the decisions and planning are easier if you think first about the function.

For instance, ask yourself how you use your living room. Do you entertain? Do you like to sit around the fireplace? Do you read at night? How many people use the room on a daily basis? Do children do their homework here? Is there are TV in the room? Do you need one seating area or several? By determining the function, the form unfolds naturally. Once you answer all these questions the room arrangement begins to take shape. You know what sorts of lighting you need, what kind of tables and their heights, how many people will need to sit in the room and where they need to sit. By concentrating on the function of your living room you rule out options and ideas that aren't relevant and the planning process is greatly simplified. Next time you need to make design decision remember that form follows function.

It's the day before Thanksgiving, and the butcher is just locking up when a man begins pounding on the front door.

"Please let me in," says the man desperately. "I forgot to buy a turkey, and my wife will kill me if I don't come home with one." "Okay," says the butcher. "Let me see what I have left." He goes into the freezer and discovers that there's only one scrawny turkey left. He brings it out to show the man.

"That's one is too skinny. What else you got?" says the man.

The butcher takes the bird back into the freezer and waits a few minutes and brings the same turkey back out to the man.

"Oh, no," says the man, "That one doesn't look any better. You better give me both of them!"