Artist Statement
I have often thought I was switched at birth because, although I was born and raised in the Midwest, at an early age I was intensely interested in all things foreign. By age nine, I had created a little collection of Chinese language characters which I worked on after school with the man at the Chinese laundry. After college I quickly fled to Seville to learn flamenco. Happily I selected the right career, international development work, which offered me the opportunity to live and work for years in Mexico, Guatemala, and India. These countries all have in common: the year-round warm weather, bright light and a saturated palette, in particular red, yellow, orange, and blue. The colors I instinctively use in my work are inspired by the vibrant Latin American environment and the local art.
Acrylic paint, my medium of choice, dries quickly and allows for speed and spontaneity. My process is a repetitive and quick response to what I see in each moment as the canvas changes before me. The goal is to create many layers of brightly colored lines, each twisting and turning, weaving over and under in complex interaction. I’m interested in the tension between opposites such as surface and depth, the controlled and intuitive, and opacity and transparency. The mutual influence of all these elements is fascinating to me. Each piece is finished when, amid the profusion of line and form, I feel an inherent harmony and balance.
Embedded within the many layers of paint are hints of swings, ladders, bridges and passageways. These structures appeared organically, without intent, and suggest motion and escape. My work embodies my love of life and travel and is evocative of the accelerated pace, and overwhelming complexities of contemporary living.