Portfolio of Works

Viewing the ocean and rocks are often first impressions at the beach.  It's this macro view that helps me breathe more deeply and surfaces deep gratitude that I live near the water.  But once on the beach, head down, treasures are found.  New compositions are seen and imagined in often surprising ways.  Beach combing is rewarding, be it in real hand-held treasures or photographs to explore more carefully once in the studio.

Gardening is a passion.  It is my piece of serenity and beauty which inspires me each year.   Urns, planters, sunny gardens, ponds, and shady areas keep me busy.  Gardening is full of surprises and delight.  I am finding muses in its colors, textures, and compositions.  

Winter often blankets our landscape with distinct views.  Cold, windy, snow covered weather brings me inward, often quieter, and observing the outdoors differently.  Snow shadows have recently captured my attention.  

Personal, thought-provoking meaning are ignited from first utilizing the journal process. Journaling with text and image allows my process of art making to surface in a playful way.  This new direction supports my interest with visual freedom, iteration, and deconstruction when creating larger mixed media collages.  Titles for each collage come from the original journal image. 

I have been a student of gardening for many years. Every year it is a surprise to watch the earth turn from dirt to tips of green peeking from the surface, eventually becoming a symphony of plants and perennial flowers. Our gardens are a solace and place of pride for my husband and me.  Over thirty-five years, we continue to expand and tend to our outside rooms.  It is a love we share together.  Bringing their influence into the studio and into my mixed media collages is very exciting for me. 

Living close to the ocean evokes a mixture of fulfillment and gratitude.  The aesthetics of my town are awesome in the truest sense.  Water, granite, and sky are in constant change and movement throughout the seasons and throughout each day.  Each walk is poetic and enriching.  Never the same yet as familiar as a very close friend.  These pieces reflect the beauty, power, and interpretation of my amazing environment.    

There is richness in seeing a finished collage as the muse for a new piece.  By exploring compositions in this way, it helps me see new compositions and new opportunities.  These collages reflect this approach, zooming in to highlight parts and pieces of previous collages to create new compositions. 

Creating small handmade books ignited my interest in deconstruction as a way of working.  Each page represented a new mini composition.  It brought a fresh and surprising creation of the printed papers in its first restructured composition.  It also provided a conversation between two pages visually.  This was the foundation for the larger mixed media collages, two or four pages talking to one another in the composition.  Each iteration provided the freedom to extend the interpretation.