Artist Statement

A breakthrough moment came as I was standing in a shallow river, at a place where I could see a second stream entering the waterway. Seeing the complex patterns emerge from the combination of the two simpler ones gave me a template from which to view the structure of nature. Everywhere I looked, I saw simple motifs repeated and made more complex in combination: the wind behind clouds, the shifting movement of the earth, currents in oceans and streams.

I began working with images of overlapping screens. Transparent materials revealed the structure I was after. I printed etched lines on Gampi Silk Tissue, a translucent paper made by a National Living Treasure of Japan. I later made collages using colored papers I had printed with lightfast inks. Using prints from small woodcuts and paper-board blocks, I moved pieces around until I achieved an image I liked. Everything in my print collages was printed, by hand or by using an etching press. I later made shaped pieces, using the same technique.

My teaching positions eventually led me to the medium of watercolor. To my artistic heroes of Paul Cezanne and Paul Klee, I added Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. I painted the colors I saw on my travels in Europe and elsewhere. Several trips to Yellowstone National Park have resulted in an admiration for the heat-loving bacteria found there. The effects of the Thermophile bacteria can be seen in the unusual colors and formations found throughout the area.