When people ask what I do, and find out I'm an artist, the next question invariably is, do you paint? Yes I do. I also cut, tear, glue scrape, sew, photocopy, drip, smear and slash in order to achieve a finished piece that will find a place in someone's home or office and make their life more beautiful. Sometimes I start with an idea that came in a flash but more often I begin with a vague idea (or a really bad sketch) and I allow the materials to guide me. As I work however, my primary goal is to create a work that excites me and maybe even surprises me in the end. "Mixed media" describes much of my work because I can't limit myself to just one media or follow the rules when my soul is busy playing.
My work is usually abstract because what excites me most and inspires me is pure color, shape, pattern, scale, line and texture. My job, as I see it, is to create visual excitement using whatever material are necessary (and at hand) and when I'm successful, people can see that my appoach to things is both playful and spontaneous.
Another indication of success for me --- when my work inspires others to explore their own limitless creativity and they give themselves permission to get messy and create something without fear of mistakes.
Life is messy -- isn't it great?
I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Graduated University of Wyoming 1983 with a B.S. in Fine Arts. I've worked in the University of Wyoming's Art Museum, the MOMA in San Francisco, and at Vision Gallery in San Francisco. I've also had many non-art jobs in pursuit of a paycheck but in 2003 a job ended and it seemed that the time had FINALLY come for me to pursue all the visual ideas that were burning a great many (allegorical) holes in my head. I currently reside in a rickety old farmhouse (with a swimming pool -- go figure!) on the edge of Cedar Rapids, Iowa with my husband, our child and two cats... all female (except for the husband.
