statement

I am a mixed media artist, using a variety of materials while exploring drawing, painting, sculpture and photography. I have been working with computers for many years and bring my knowledge of technology to my work. I continually bring images to the computer to modify, print and then combine again with other media. I have also experimented with video and installation, adding the dimensions of time and space to my work.

I am captivated by natural materials and use them in my artistic works — carving roots, using dead plants collected from my garden, and photographing molds. As I work, I transform the natural materials into something new that also feels organic.

I often make sculptural reliefs, combining found plant material with handmade paper, various fibers, wire and paint. I work until I find a moment of resonance between the materials and the imagery, creating fanciful wall sculptures that abstractly reference the world around me.

For my photographic work I am continually drawn to nature, often working with dying flowers and, using the computer, turning them into something alive. These works combine the beauty of nature with the reality of decay.

With an extreme close-up lens on my camera, I am able to find abstraction in the minute. I often capture tiny sections of dead flowers and other plant materials, finding imagery that feels like body - inside of body, scarred body. I am amazed at the connection, at this micro level, between plants and humans.

When I began woodcarving, I responded to the imagery that I discovered in found roots and stumps. The results are fantasy creatures, part human, part animal with allusions to dragons and gods. Again, I am transforming nature, creating something alive from something dead.

In these sculptures as in most of my work, I use the computer as an artistic tool, testing modifications and moving back and forth between the computer and natural materials. This merging of the analytical and artistic is another reflection of my life, where my long experience with technology is now blending with my need for artistic expression. But whether using the computer or working with materials, I am always embracing nature, letting its beauty guide my work.