statement

I am a mark-maker on and off the canvas, and I do not restrict myself to any one material.  I like to live in a very fluid space between painting, art and craft, abstraction, and representation, sculpture and printmaking. I choose to create art at-and-beyond the intersection of these worlds.  Described by critics as "a maker of stuff (with) a baroque sensibility." I work with common, easily accessible materials to stretch meaning, and to create hybrid objects. At one time I thought that painting flowers was superficial.  I now reconcile this with my realization that not only is floral imagery central in my work, but that my imagery includes the appropriation of flower "arrangement" from paint-by-number kits.  I use paint-by-number templates as a point of departure, which leads to the creation of a complex narrative. My practice involves working in an intuitive and meditative manner and includes a process which is labor-intensive and focuses on detail. The visual image reflects both the physical landscape and an internal state.

I frequently work with layers of wax and resin that appear charged with expressionistic strokes of color. My technique incorporates cut and glued sheets of partially painted clear acetate once used as palettes for older work.  Shielded from total exposure, these colorful abstract fragments appear to float.  In addition, I cut Mylar by hand to reference traditional notions of beauty and domesticity.

Embellishment and ornamentation play key roles in the work. Beauty and ambiguous spatial constructions hold the viewers attention. In fairy tales we allow for the suspension of disbelief, letting hair be spun into gold.  Within my picture frames, I, too, perform magic with my materials and processes.

I intend to create sensuous and visually captivating objects that engage spectators on a purely visceral level. I argue between my-selves that it‚s not necessary to choose between working between the lines, and painting in a non-confined way that liberates forms into space. Ultimately, it is the presence of my hand that both leaves its mark and pulls the viewer into the work.

bio

born: April 13, 1958, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

education

University of Wisconsin, Madison, MFA 1982
Carnegie-Mellon University, BFA, 1979

selected awards/honors

Southeastern Public Transit Aunthority Permanent Underground Subway Station Installation, Philadelphia, PA,2011
Artist in Residence Ox Bow, Saugatuck, MI, 2011
Faculty Research Award, Rutgers State University, 2011
Hungarian Embassy Award, US representative at the International Artist Camp, Hajuboszormeny, Hungary, 2005

selected publications

New American Paintings,Spring Edition 2009
Sculpture Magazine, November 2005
Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Painting, Liverpool University Press,2003
Fiber Arts Magazine, September/October 1999

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Bruce Gallery, Edinboro State University, Edinboro, PA, 2011
Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
Gallery X, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006
Solvay Gallery, Krakow, Poland, 2005

selected group shows

Tinney Contemporary Gallery, Knoxville, TN, 2010
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 2010
Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua, NY, 2009
Florence Biennial, Florence, Italy, 2005