I received a BA in Art from Indiana University where I studied jewelry design and silversmithing under
Alma Eikerman and Helen Shirk. More recently I took classes at th Glassell School of Art in
Houston,Texas under Sandy Zilker and Jan Harrell. My work is made by using the techniques of piercing,
sawing, construction, forming, enameling and etching. I am a member of the Houston Metal Arts Guild.
I was lucky to be raised by parents that encouraged my creativity, love of nature and inquisitiveness. All
my siblings are creative and we are all inspired by nature. My sister Fran Hart is a visionary artist who
lives in Honaunau on the big island of Hawaii. Both our creative works have a spiritual basis. My brother
Roger Berrier creates beauty through plants as part of his work at the Norfolk, Virginia cemeteries. My
son, Douglas Petranoff, is creating aquascapes for Aquarium Design Group of Houston.
I'm fascinated by archeology and nature and have studied the ancient cultures of the world and my art
has these things as it's inspiration. Native American rock art caught my interest when I participated in a
field trip in 1986 to sites in Utah. Since then, I have continued to research, record and photograph other
rock art sites in Utah as well as Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon,
Texas, Washington and Wyoming. I have also visited sites in Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Baja in
Mexico. My interest has grown to include rock art of the world.
Recently I have begun to visit sites in other countries besides the United States and Mexico. In July of
2000 I spent a month in Australia. In September of 2001 I visited the Paleolithic Caves in Spain. In August
of 2005 I headed back to Australia - I love that country!! In May of 2006 I moved from Houston, Texas to
Las Cruces, New Mexico. In March of 2007 I will be making a trip to southwestern Egypt for a two week
trip into the Sahara desert.
"My work is inspired by actual images made by ancient peoples. Looking for petroglyphs and pictographs
is an adventure. I'm inspired by these magical images. I feel like the ancient artists are trying to
communicate with us. I try to make each piece a spiritual creation as well as an artistic one."
I am a member of the American Rock Art Research Association, the Colorado Rock Art Assocation, the
Southern Nevada Rock Art Research Association, the Nevada Rock Art Foundation, the Eastern States
Rock Art Association and the Utah Rock Art Research Association. I have recently joined the Dona Ana
Archeology Society and the El Paso Archeology Society and am serving as the archivists for EPAS. I
have also helped archeologists record sites and I've used my artistic abilities to help some with
illustrations used in rock art presentations at different symposiums.
I did my first recording in 1986 and have continued working on projects ever since. In April and
September 1999 I helped Rupestrian CyberServices on a project for the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department. We were working at Hueco Tanks State Historical Park outside El Paso, Texas. In 2001 and
2002 I worked with them on recording projects in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. My latest recording project
was in June of 2004 in Northern Nevada was not far from Reno. Now that I have moved to New Mexico I
hope to be able to work on more projects
