Statement

My practice has been to develop imagery using objects common to a natural environment — trees, seeds, leaves, birds, houses, water, plant silhouettes. I create a symbolic context for these, a narrative in which the objects become metaphors for the passage of time, memory, and the fleeting, often powerful, connections that anchor each of us to a place and time. There is frequently an underlying message about the fragile yet enduring quality of Nature, and there is always a reverence for its beauty.

I work in series, creating a body of work that gradually reveals the theme that will then persist throughout the series. I use hand-cut and commercially made stamps and stencils, photographs, found objects, and many impromptu texture materials interchangeably, regardless of medium. I build my images slowly through exchanging or repositioning these elements, and reworking previous areas. A single painting may have more than 25 layers of thin, transparent paint in many colors, while monotypes often use several different plates and print runs to achieve the same layered effect. Textile work allows me to add hand embroidery and beading, and my artist books marry text and imagery to structure, distilling the experiences and ideas that prompted the series.

A typical series encompasses 4-6 years and will consist of more than 100 pieces, including monotypes, prints, paintings on paper and fabric, embroidery, artist books, site notes and sketches, and hundreds of photographs.