The process of making art is meditation, story telling, communication from the heart. The edges of the paper define a small, specific piece of the infinite space of the world, at a particular time, from my particular point of view. The space on the paper is a metaphor for existence; the image is a record of my experience. The viscosity and color of paint, mark-making in drawing, color, texture, layering, and surprises in printmaking are all just as important as the images and ideas. Each painting, drawing, print, collage, or book is a dialogue: an interaction between the materials, internal experience, external experience, observation, ideas, and memory. 


Paintings in the Landscape series are responses to the experience of walking through places that resonate with me for various reasons. The Garden paintings are observations of flowers, mostly from the extremely unmanicured gardens around my house. Although making art is always some kind of escape from the external world, the Refuge series is about intentionally making paintings for that purpose. And Tales of the Farblunget combine my responses to certain kinds of landscapes with an ongoing story about dementia. 


I have been making art for as long as I can remember. I graduated from Cornell University with a BFA in painting, and Boston University with an MFA in Studio Teaching. I have been teaching art in one way or another ever since. Currently, I teach K-5 art at the Alcott Elementary School in Concord, MA, which I have been doing since 2000. I make art mostly during the summer, and whenever else I can manage it during the school year.  


 


Artist Talk, Off Main Gallery 8/18