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Time now to 'fess up.  "We" is mostly "me" - Julie Parker.    
I do work with some wonderful colleagues--a loose conglomeration of independent and of course interdependent professionals in Western North Carolina who choose to collaborate from time to time in our various areas of strength.  

But besides the wonderful people I sometimes collaborate with, "Handwoven Webs" is . . . well, me!  And what is my background?  How can I boldly stake the claim of being so much better than your brother-in-law?

Well, to begin with, I am an artist.  In college I was a painter---I have a BFA in painting from East Carolina University.  Now my passion is photography and images I create that BEGIN with my photographs. (That's the right brain part.)

After I wandered around life a bit, I landed--much to my surprise--at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working as a computer scientist for the Federal Government.  (That's the left brain part . . . ) 

At NIST, I created my first website, long before the public had even heard of the web!  Way back then, all the backgrounds were gray and all the text the same size and color, and all the pictures were on the left.  Sound?  Video?  No way.

In the late 80's, I developed a passion for American Sign Language and made many friends in the Deaf community. (By the way, in the Deaf community, "deaf" is more "politically correct" than "hearing-impaired".  Surprised, aren't you?) This passion led me to Gallaudet University in Washington DC where all the undergraduate students are deaf.  I got a Master's degree there in what was called "Educational Technology"--essentially about design for HUMAN information processing.  At this time I developed yet another passion, one for visual literacy, and joined the International Visual Literacy Association, going to their conferences and one year presenting there, about the work that was going to be my doctoral project.

After that, I attended The Union Institute and got about 90% through a PhD in New Media Studies.  At first my focus was Interactive Multimedia, a term you don't even hear anymore. 

After 12 (twelve!) years as a computer scientist, I decided that my right brain was going to atrophy if I didn't put it to better use.  So in 1997 I packed up my computer and my dog Cricket and headed for the hills - of Western North Carolina, where I began Handwoven Webs. 

With my Master's and doctoral work behind me, years of experience with computers and a passion for the visual arts and written word, my two brains were sort of stitched together, and they both work very nicely now, in tandem, creating websites.  

And THAT'S why I can design rings around your brother-in-law!

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