In a time when "how quickly?" and "how inexpensively?" are the first questions on the lips of many, I take as my influences the sumptuous and intricate beauty of the Renaissance and European decorative arts, and the care in workmanship I saw as a child in rural Japan. I am guided by the words of George Nakashima: "The woodworker has a special intensity, a striving for perfection, a conviction that any task must be executed with all his skill." I feel that my raison d'être is to bring as much beauty into the world as I can. In my 25 years as a classical singer, I found the "business" of music to be ugly, but the music itself beautiful. I strive to bring the same elements I loved in music – lyricism, harmony and rhythm – to my work now. I work in a very broad range of materials and techniques and I believe this to be an asset, as one skill informs another, and the cross-pollination of media can lead to exciting and wonderful results. I am particularly inspired by William Morris, who mastered everything from textile design and book binding to poetry and painting. Whatever the project at hand, regardless of its medium or the historical period that inspired it, I embrace every opportunity to create beauty.