greater detail

I hope after you've read this, you're glad you did....

As an artist drawing and painting were first in my realm of creating. I dreamt of being a fabric designer, yet as I learned more about that industry I found one's work was rarely given the chance to be original, rather one would be creating what is in "style" which is frequently someone else's ideals.  

I love working with fabric; sewing, weaving, macrame, quilting, applique, etc. When it was time to obtain my BFA I was looking for a University to learn more about textiles when an Advisor told me  "one can print on fiber" and that's when I entered the Printmaking realm...how this all became formalized. Fiber arts do inch their way into my creations from time to time. I have printed onto fabric - it's not as much fun as I imagined it would be and registration is unforgiving!

As a Printmaker I am trained and appreciate the many different forms of creating hand-pulled prints, from relief printing (linoleum and wood cuts), intaglio (etching a metal plate, normally copper or zinc), to lithography (also etching yet on a Bavarian limestone), and serigraphy (screen printing). Each of these different forms of printing require different skill sets, from envisioning the finished image in reverse (relief, intaglio, lithography) to working with a wide range of inks and inking methods, etching chemicals and etching processes. I most enjoy serigraphy because of the way the inks dry quickly allowing for many layers of colors to be pulled (*printed*) in a short period of time. Also, serigraphy is a direct image meaning it is not created in reverse.

As an artist, I feel the need to create images to invoke ideas - symbols, motion, colors all affect the viewer. I was taught at a pretty young age (pre-teen) that if a shape has only one color or tone it is a flat (2D) shape and how shadows and highlights make a difference.

A few of the ideas that you will find re-occurring in my work is that our hearts are the center of our knowledge, our brains are our center of intelligence, and our guts are our center of action.  The Heart-Brain-Gut connection is important.  

• I believe my heart knows what is right. 
• I understand that my brain will figure out logistics. 
• I trust my gut to push me into action.

Another theme is that self-care is selfless. Women are directed from a very early age to take care of others. As a collective we are finally on the cusp of understanding that the best way to take care of others is to first take care of ourselves. Hence, the vessels, the stripes, the branches, the swirls, the constructs, the shattered, trapped images. The better I care for myself the less my loved ones will need to do to care for me, which is the greatest gift I can give them.

Self-care is the most selfless thing I can do to care for those I love, and it is the wisest lesson I can share with others.