About
Artist Bio:
Art-making has always been a major focus in my life. Although primarily a sculptor, I also work in a variety of media, both 2 and 3 d. My work references nature and issues aroundimperfection and impermanence, including both deterioration and regeneration. I am also happy when I am able to integrate social, political and environmental concerns into my work.
In 1998, after being a social worker for 30 years, I left my job to attend the NY Studio School for a 3 year program in painting and sculpture, studying especially with Bruce Gagnier and Lee Tribe. While I continued to work figuratively and mostly in clay, it was at this point that I began to explore abstraction, and using a whole range of other materials.
Most recently I have been making paper and working with raw Kozo fiber, falling in love with its texture and seeing it as a vehicle for my own visual associations. I also use repurposed materials, and developed my own process for working with silk, paper and wax. Jen Davies taught me my first paper making, though I probably broke every rule in my own paper making process while trying to build sculptural forms. I also studied Joomchi with Jiyoung Chung.
My process is guided by the mix of planning and chance that the materials I use offer to the imagery. Finding beauty in the imperfect or impermanent, acknowledging moments of change, and engaging with the process of transience often form the basis of my work.
Artist Statement:
Finding beauty in the imperfect or impermanent, acknowledging moments of change and engaging with the process of transformation (often) form the basis of my work. My process is guided by the mix of planning and chance that the materials I use offer to the imagery.
My art often references nature, (including human nature,) whether evoking the skeletons or remains of what was or the discovery of new life (growth) stealing its way amidst the ashes. It reflects memories, traces, and fantasies that combine metaphors for what has been and will be.
I may start with pulp to produce large handmade paper sculptures,or raw fibers which I cook and peel, then reassemble,or layers of silk and wax and papers which I transform through the use of heat. Regardless of the end product, my process involves a breaking down and reassembling or revisioning of both the materials and my own visual memories.