ARTIST STATEMENT
Early in life, the woods near my home became my refuge, hideaway, playground and sanctuary.
Today, the woods are my practice.
I have come to recognize that there is no true distinction between “us” and nature — we are all part of the same web. In my work, the organic environment becomes a metaphor for my need to belong, to root, to ground. Line, which is prominent in my work, is the ultimate connector. It is seen throughout nature — in the roots of trees, mycelium networks, protective canopies and how everything learns from and supports one another.
It is said that when we lose our connection to nature, we lose the connection to ourselves.
In my process, one of intuitive and improvisational decision-making, I seek to synthesize sometimes-disparate elements into an organic whole through a combination of painting and assemblage. Natural materials such as straw, earth, bamboo, clay and plant roots become a reference for the temporality and cycles of life, death, decay and rebirth. Lead and rubber are incorporated for their malleability, strength and resilience. They are dense materials, heavy enough to bear the burden of life yet pliable enough to adapt. Lead in particular has been the base material used in alchemy to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
My process of discovery and desire to not make the work too precious allows me to construct and deconstruct the work, making way for the possibility of new and unexpected images to come forth—sometimes simply a body fragment or a figure enmeshed in the environment. I find art-making a continuous intuitive process that brings me closer to myself and the world.
Convergence Art 3D7 