Artists Statement

My artwork is a means for me to communicate my feelings and perceptions about the things I encounter both seen and unseen. I look for the joy, wonder, and awe in whatever I am experiencing, for myself first, and then through myriad mediums to share with a viewer.

The thread that weaves my work together is my fascination of the natural world. It is no surprise that the two books I consider the most influential of my young life were “The Little Engine That Could” and then, “The World We Live In”. I was mesmerized by the later. As long as I can remember I was peeking under stones, looking at tree bark, ripples in water, stars in the sky. I did not understand how, but I knew these things were all connected and I was part of that great matrix. My first botany class blew my mind!

I tend to gravitate toward using natures materials, especially my own fingers! I also enjoy capturing magic through alternative photographic processes, especially my Holga 120.

So far, mastering a medium is not where I want to focus my energy, although I admit that an inherited perfectionism gene finds its way into my process. When I dive into the great unknown of a new technique or medium, I reenter a childlike state of wonder and possibility.

I am increasingly distressed by the condition of our planet. Alarmed is a more accurate word. Part of the goal of my current project, The Dreaming Gourd, is to help mitigate the situation by sparking new awareness of the things that surround us and to consider how our actions and reactions to one another play a role.

After my adventure in the intense world of publishing and all the technology involved, I am looking forward to a prolonged reverie with natural pigments and adding plants, sticks, stones, and grasses to my set of brushes.I will see where my long-time muse, the gourd, takes me – no doubt to a place I cannot yet imagine.