statement

When I was young our house would flood every spring.  We would have water flowing through our front and back yards creating a moat around our house. There was always a sense of panic when storm clouds drifted into the valley. We never seemed to be prepared for trees falling, basements flooding and the complete fear that would overtake the dog. This planted the seed of my weather anxiety. Just look at the weather channel, thunderstorms are now tsunamis and class 4 hurricanes. There are underwater earthquakes and icebergs the size of states floating about. It's an endless source of images and ideas for me. I don't try to render natural disasters as much as I am compelled to explore the fear and beauty of a particularly unusual or outrageous moment.

Drawing has always been my first choice as a means of expression. I preferred it to speaking when I was quite young. People seemed to respond more to my drawings than my voice.  So drawing for me is just an extension of my language. Why not paint?  I use watercolor as an under painting for depth of color but it is important for me to dig in and touch the materials. I think I best understand the planet when I have charcoal and pigments ground up on my drawing table ready to become water and ash.  The process of drawing allows me to be in the eye of the hurricane and somewhat quell my anxiety of severe weather at the same time.

bio

born: 1963, Indianapolis, Indiana

education:

The Cleveland Institute of Art, BFA, 1987

selected awards/honors

Director's Choice Award, BayArts,  2010
First Place, Fairmont Arts, 2008

selected publications

selected solo or two-person exhibits

On the Precipice, BAYarts Gallery, Bay Village, OH, 2010
Black and Blue, 1point618 Gallery, Cleveland, OH, 2009
Weather Issues, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 2008
Art Evolution, 1point618 Gallery, Cleveland, OH, 2007

selected group shows

Art from the Heartland, Indianapolis, OH, 2010
Regional Pairings, Harris-Stanton Gallery, Akron, OH, 2009
Terra non Firma, Legation and Front Room Galleries, Cleveland, OH, 2009
National Juried Works on Paper, Long Beach Island, NJ, 2009