Statement 

I’m interested in a visual expression of themes such as identity, longings, personal mythology, iconic memories, and the turning-point significance of any given time and place. My process creates an historical journey for a painting’s surface, which is a metaphor for life’s narrative, with its endless layers of self-reflection, discovery and transformation. Like a map of possibilities, our lives are a compilation of markers, some lingering close to our surface, some that become partially hidden with time or intent, and those that are obscured and forgotten. Like life, my works are as much about what is buried as what is revealed.

I often use stitching in my work to symbolically, and sometimes literally, put back together pieces of the whole, and as a process to explore issues of patterns and repetition, as well as dichotomies such as fragility and strength, vulnerability and power. In some works, the lines and shapes created when I “draw” with thread suggest life’s pathways and spaces -- some chosen by us, some chosen for us. Bits and pieces of old maps, journals, sewing patterns, blueprints, photos, notes, books, etc. represent the emotional surfaces on which our recollections are built.

Through my paintings I reflect on the search for life’s elusive equilibrium. The works explore the tension between anxiety and contentment, chaos and order, understanding and uncertainty. They reference loss of innocence, remembrance of wholeness, and life’s ironic, circular nature.