I'm a visual storyteller… I work non-figuratively to create a series of vignettes using metaphors as stand-ins. I portray the cast of "characters" in relationships using artistic license to exaggerate the "who, what, why, and how" people behave. The resulting intuitive mixed media constructions are the essence of my artwork.

The first metaphor I ever used was a simple school chair, grounded by four legs in an open gesture…loaded with childhood memories. The chairs became portraits recalling extended family.

My studio, fifteen minutes from home, shares a wall with a small barbershop and a quiet overhead apartment. This tranquil space envelops me with my thoughts. I'm surrounded with all kinds of tools, books, hardware, paints, papers, threads and yarns, and cabinets filled with textiles. These supplies are organized as my working palette.

Since each character in the vignettes possesses its own unique identity, I marry the art materials with them, like casting a film. I experiment with mini samples to examine the possibilities, then mount the samples on the wall to photograph them for an additional view. After a good night's sleep and distance from the former day's yield, I continue the artmaking PROCESS, my favorite part of making ART.

art as internal journey

my art making is an internal journey

with external souvenirs

on my trip I carry a soup pot for serving

memories, sensations, and responses

to the world around me....and consider "what if?"

a few of my traveling companions are Gego, Antoni Tapies,

Leslie Dill, Anne Hamilton, Richard Tuttle, Eva Hesse,

Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Anne Truitt

you will always find in my suitcase:

with my suitcase, soup pot, travel companions, and NPR, I travel to incredible places where there's always room for guests on the journey