Floral Triptych I MM on Paper My art life and previous life are coming together in a delightful way. I have been asked to teach classes on painting and collage through the OLLI program at Duke. Long before I picked up a paintbrush to make art, I trained and taught high school English (my first job was in Cary, a…
Beginnings - Mixed Media 8 x 8 inches Every winter, my thoughts shift from the skies to what lurks underground. Dormant seeds and water channels were on my mind this past winter and I began a series of small pieces inspired by these thoughts. In this series, I focused on the idea of a seed, or a cell, and its…
I work in a variety of sketchbooks of varying sizes in my art making. A few years ago I realized that hundreds of books were headed for the landfill, so I began reclaiming some of them as sketchbooks to work in. In the first photo I have arranged a number of them on a table top along with my usual…
A Spanish dance troupe from Chicago on the outdoor stage at Jacob’s Pillow This summer, I returned to the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts to hear live music at Tanglewood and attend dance programs at Jacobs Pillow. As usual, I brought my journal-sketchbook with me like I do whenever I go on a trip or attend a concert, theatre or dance program. The…
I began using maps in my artwork several years ago when I was trying to solve the dilemma of painting a toucan's large beak and keeping it interesting. I decided to collage an antique map of the toucan's homeland underneath the bird, and I was thrilled to find a picture of a small section of a South American map drawn in the 1600’s.…
You look out and see the trees through the studio window. Green leaves, the sunlight making them yellowish with darker green shadows. Warm, tan tree trunks; deep, green foliage further away; a cascade of green in different shades. You assume that everyone looking out on these leaves sees them the same way that you do. So many people get cataracts…
Life Decisions. Funny how they are made. In January of 2012 I decided to set out in a new direction and see if I couldn't find the abstract world within myself. It remained evasive and a total mystery! I am not the type who gives up easily but my spirit quickly became disillusioned with all of my attempts. A few…
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” People differ in their tastes for art forms and color palettes. People also differ in their interpretation of a work of art’s meaning, with art critics endlessly debating over an artist’s intent. I believe it is important for the viewer to form his or her own experience of a work of art…
Hiking this morning on the NC Botanical Gardens trail, I was reminded again how much inspiration I gather from spending time among the growing things of a forest. The more I let all my senses adjust to the slower speed of the trees and streams, the more I become aware of the incomprehensible variety that surrounds me. I try to…
“Enameling is a dying art”. I refused to believe it! I just came back from Austria, where I expected to see and maybe buy some pieces of the most beautiful enamel work, as I remember they had many years ago. I was greatly disappointed when I could not find one piece of traditional or modern enamel anywhere in Vienna or…