Artist’s Statement My work is best expressed as the intersection of my love of color, words, images, fabric, and reflection. Fabric provides an endless array of canvasses on which to work. I hand-dye fabric, using heliographic (sun) printing, batik, and paints and inks, as well as incorporate fabric batiked by others. Most of my fabric is cotton, though more recently I have incorporated silk into my work. Various forms of printmaking serve as my paintbrush for getting images onto fabric, including screen printing, heliographic printing, transfer processes and batik and paint. My own internal journey serves as the catalyst for images and messages. I have made pieces that question the viewer, such as “When Did You Stop,” where the viewer is asked to ponder ancient questions related to health and wellness. Other pieces blend poetry with color and expression, such as “Row Your Boat” or “Go With the Flow.” Favorite quotations show up in my work, most notably those of Rumi, Hafiz, Juan Ramon Jimenez, Leonard Cohen, John Lennon and Robert Frost. I create pieces that respond to the current socio-political environment, such as “What Matters Most,” that depicts love, not gender, as the most important element of any relationship. My non-artist professional life began as a criminologist who sought justice and peace through the altering of institutionalized practices. I have also studied the sociology of education, trained in active and collaborative learning, been a community ... view more »
Artist’s Statement My work is best expressed as the intersection of my love of color, words, images, fabric, and reflection. Fabric provides an endless array of canvasses on which to work. I hand-dye fabric, using heliographic (sun) printing, batik, and paints and inks, as well as incorporate fabric batiked by others. Most of my fabric is cotton, though more recently I have incorporated silk into my work. Various forms of printmaking serve as my paintbrush for getting images onto fabric, including screen printing, heliographic printing, transfer processes and batik and paint. My own internal journey serves as the catalyst for images and messages. I have made pieces that question the viewer, such as “When Did You Stop,” where the viewer is asked to ponder ancient questions related to health and wellness. Other pieces blend poetry with color and expression, such as “Row Your Boat” or “Go With the Flow.” Favorite quotations show up in my work, most notably those of Rumi, Hafiz, Juan Ramon Jimenez, Leonard Cohen, John Lennon and Robert Frost. I create pieces that respond to the current socio-political environment, such as “What Matters Most,” that depicts love, not gender, as the most important element of any relationship. My non-artist professional life began as a criminologist who sought justice and peace through the altering of institutionalized practices. I have also studied the sociology of education, trained in active and collaborative learning, been a community mediator, trained others in mediation and conflict resolution and, most recently, worked in the area of labor relations and labor negotiations. All of my work is a constant stretching and reaching for ways to connect, reduce harm, and create peace. Having lived much of that experience in my head and through scholarship, I have more recently been called to seek the same goals through practices more directly tied to my heart and soul. When I work with printmaking and fabric, my heart sings. If that work touches others in some remote way, it is the essence of the continuing struggle, and rings more true to me than other endeavors.
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