the draw

From a very early age, I had a fascination with drawing high-rise apartment buildings and city windows lit up at night, as well as creating elaborate Lego metropolises in the dirt for my Hot Wheel cars. Needless to say, I had an early eye for becoming an architect or city planner. As I grew older and entered college, I became interested in maps, infographics, the relationship between elements in space, organic patterns, and the sophisticated sequencing of minute details. Pairing this interest with my love of drawing eventually led me to grad school in art to study graphic design and, over time, build a career as a mixed media artist. 

the quiet

Being introverted, I tend to become exhausted and depleted by social situations that normally energize others. I have spent half a lifetime feeling ashamed about this trait and worked relentlessly to override it with extroversion to no avail. Once I finally accepted this part of myself, I decided to carve out prolonged windows of alone time whenever possible. The discipline of being quietly alone for periods of time, whether wandering an alleyway, a canyon, the beach, or hunkering down in my studio, is rewarding as it permits me to truly see, blend, absorb, and record life without being distracted. By disconnecting, I am finding reconnection. I more easily and earnestly notice the true color, pure light, subtle smells and sounds, uninterrupted energy, and organic form. I allow myself undivided attention to scribble, photograph, wander, jot, touch, sketch, collect, listen, taste, feel, get lost and, ultimately after sitting down to create, get found. In the end, recognizing that this formula of self-preservation and self-discovery was not “weird” but actually a good thing was both a relief and blessing. 

the sea, the soil, the circle

My pieces are one-of-a-kind labors of love. While communicating their own visual cadence and dimensional rhythm, each piece represents a different process and aesthetic. The inspiration behind most of my work springs from the organic, geometric, textured, patterned, curiously meticulous, and peculiarly beautiful. The components of my pieces tend to come from nature, usually either the sea or the soil. Building original wall sculptures using raw material components from the natural world, such as pieces of dried plant life, marine material, pods, seeds, wood, shells, natural botanical fibers, and clay, has become a trademark of my work. These natural objects are then hand-manipulated, resurfaced, reshaped, and rearranged in such a way as to become a new abstracted whole. An element that inspires, and is central to a lot of my work, is the circle. This symbol can mean balance, healing, self, interconnectedness, infinity, perfection, cyclical time/movement, and unification. In studying the circle, I have also found inspiration in repeating patterns, micrographic line art, antique botanical and aquatic engravings, the vector of a curve, the fluidity and life force of water, dimension in sculpture, and texture in organic surfaces.

the glorious tedium 

The endeavor of my work is ultimately very self-serving… it feels good to me. A huge part of what I do comes down to execution. As prolonged and laborious the process of creating many of my pieces is, it is the result of the accumulation of slow, methodical, patient gestures, repeated over time to transform tiny single units into a larger ordered, interconnected system. Working in this way is considered REALLY TEDIOUS by most and clearly is not for everyone, but for me personally, these small actions and the gradual evolution of a whole, as revealed day after day and week after week, is extremely gratifying to experience. This mindful and methodical process usually makes the meticulous labor, long hours, and dedication well worth it in the end- especially when that tranquil sense of peace and calm settles in you, as if having meditated… making any stress arising later in the day just a little easier to move through. I have been told that viewing my work can be a soothing, peaceful, and comforting experience and, if that was how I felt while making it and I was able to pass that experience on to the viewer, then hallelujah! I also like to think of my work as a little reminder to slow down, take a side route now and then, and observe the details. Wander, blend, breathe, disconnect, go from macro to micro, get a little lost once in a while… because you just never know what you might notice and how it might shift your perspective just a little… just enough.

the raw mom

I have found that working in a home studio that is integrated and completely enmeshed in my noisy, robust, and colorful family life can be challenging at times but also a huge opportunity. My kids have not only witnessed but participated in my inspiration gathering methods, creative process, production lines, how I package and present my work visually and verbally to the world, how I handle success and, most importantly, how I handle defeat. When a piece doesn’t turn out the way I’d intended or isn’t received the way I’d hoped it would by those I’d hoped would notice… how do I behave? Knowing that my kids are watching makes me a better, more responsible, and authentic artist. I try to use each new situation as a learning opportunity from which they can really experience the value of persistence, resilience, hard work, authenticity, grit, and finally, not only believing in but forgiving oneself.

the oops!

By far the most challenging part of being the mixed media artist that I am is the constant and ever-changing rotation of new materials and processes in my work. With each new material, new considerations must be made as to process and workflow, as well as how to manipulate, arrange, adhere, secure, finish, protect, crate, pack, and ship each piece. I very rarely create the same piece twice. The learning curve in creating my work is steep where, unfortunately and luckily, many, many mistakes have been made. But with constant errors, change, experimentation, and the realization of creations that had once been only in my imagination, comes exciting, original, and fresh work that keeps me moving forward, continuously learning and growing as an artist. : )