ARTIST Statement

Collage has always fascinated me. I work intuitively with materials that include remnants of everyday life from a pre-digital world, such as maps, sewing patterns, stamps, drawings, and photos.  My analog collage technique involves interacting with and transforming materials: cutting, arranging, and adhering fragments to supports such as watercolor paper and wood panels. Titles are often drawn from partially obscured text. In addition to acrylic paint, watercolor, pencil, ink, and pastels, I add color to my pieces with beads and cloth. Writing is part of my creative process, resulting in words embedded in the textured layers of my compositions. Recently, I have been experimenting with printing images of my collages on a larger scale, and then reworking them into new pieces.

My mixed media pieces reflect a direct engagement with materials but also include subtle references to what is happening in my life. My studio practice supports and influences my work as a visual arts educator. During the pandemic I began incorporating illustrations from a medical textbook into my collages. Pages from discarded books in my work refer to my love of reading. The piece you remember is about the gradations of memory and the experience of someone close to me who has dementia. Images of beaded beehives allude to the complexity of my family’s beekeeping endeavors. My art has a surrealistic quality, shifting between abstracted and dreamlike images, allowing the viewer to embrace various interpretations and possibilities of meaning.