I grew up in rural PA,
spending a lot of my childhood alone, studying, collecting,
and sketchingthe things in the woods behind my house...and
when I could drive, the local parks. nature has always played
a big part in my life...it fascinates, comforts and inspires
my life and my work. Many things have changed in my life,
but this is the one thing that remains a constant.
Painting is relatively new for me. I didn't seriously pick up a paintbrush until
the year after I graduated from college...finding it easier to market functional
objects that were handpainted than it had been to sell original drawings (although
my real dream is to someday be a children's book illustrator).
What else is there to know about my work? I don't sketch.I lay down a background,
gather some reference material for the beginning idea, and dive in. Most things
change direction halfway through...most objects are totally unrelated to
anyone else & somehow it all seems to come together for me in the end. Over
the
years I've developed my own collection of symbolic images...always interested
in telling a story...iconography and layers. Some derived from meaning in my
own life, others are more traditional. I'm always learning and reading and web-surfing.
I stare and make up stories in my head. I am a passionate observer. I hate writing
artist statements.
Inspiration...
insects, wildflowers, ferns, moss, birds, feathers, bones, hiking, full
moon, star-gazing, camping, yoga, candy, crazy quilts, crocheting, live
music, riding my bike, the colors green, blue and brown, herbal tea,
broken heart, coffee, broken china cups, needles and thread, swimming,
old vw beetles, nostalgia, ephemera, silver rings, picking berries, down
blankets, shoes, scarves, gardening, thrift stores/ flea markets, drive-in
movies, ice skating, sugar snap peas, striped stockings, aprons, apples,
kitchen utensils, my family & friends, brian andreas, sarah lugg, sabrina
ward harrison,
churches, country drives, abandoned buildings, jen grey, james christensen,
mark ryden, children’s books, anais nin, emily dickinson, andrea
scher, edna st. vincent millay, keri smith, quote books, song lyrics,
music, old maps and dictionaries, andy goldsworthy, gustav klimt, egon
schiele, medical journals and textbooks, produce, botanical journals,
fabric, every day objects, diagrams and charts and instruction manuals,love,
life. |
