Process
I like to work in both two and three dimensions, and usually have work in both forms going at once. It helps to keep me interested in the very detailed compositions that I like to make. I am primarily a collagist: I put things together. Whether using original photographs, antique papers, or cloth and thread, my artistic ideas come from a love of nature, and I aspire to create things of beauty.
It has been my aim to master all the fiber arts techniques; there are so many! And each so uniquely suited to self-expression and experimentation; here is no end to what one can do, with paper, yarn, thread, cloth, and embellishments.
It is all about the doing. Getting lost in the materials, to see where they lead. I am lucky to have a lot of materials! They come my way in surprising quantities, through the secondary market (auctions, estate sales, thrift stores, gifts from others) and I spend considerable time organizing these supplies, so that I can find what I need, when I am ready for it.
I surround myself with visual inspiration, and I maintain an ongoing scrap/design book of beautiful images, ideas, sketches and reflections. I maintain a thick layer of visuality around myself, and process a great volume of input and material. I am in a constant state of production and usually have 3, 4 or a dozen projects going at once. Progress is slow! but I am a dedicated studio worker, and spend as much time as possible creating my art.
Long ago I realized that if I sold my work, (which I did for many years), it inhibited my creativity. I could not help but consider the market appeal of what I made, and it hampered my artistic choices. Hence I made the decision to create only for myself, or, rather, for the created entities themselves. By not engaging in the end result beforehand, I am able to follow the true path of my ideas. It is the most rewarding aspect of my work, to see where I am led, by the thing that I am making! And since I am not concerned about cost-effective production, I am able to do very detailed, time consuming work that fully expresses my concepts.
In time I hope to create fine reproductions of my two-dimensional work, and offer them for sale. This is in the works, and will be added to this site when we are ready. Until then I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity that the internet has provided, to share my most intimate work, which until now has been largely unseen.
