ARTIST STATEMENT

What would it be like if the unseen, intuitive inner realm of experience were as visible as
the seen, known physical realm? What traces of mental, emotional or spiritual experiences would we see if we looked into the psyche? These are the questions
behind my work.

I am inspired by the richly textured and layered surfaces of decaying building facades and poster-plastered, graffiti-covered walls. I am drawn to cave paintings and turn-of-the-century documents where writings serve as evidence of someone or something gone before. When I look at time-worn, hand-touched surfaces, I am filled with a sense of past presence, a feeling of lives lived, moments gone by.

While marks record moments of physical experience in time, I use this idea as metaphor for the psychological journey. In my work I use overlaying images, handwriting and linear forms to symbolically represent tracings of internal experience.

WALLS WITH WAYS THROUGH
This series evolved out of the difficult time I experienced after a debilitating auto accident. In this series I attempt to resolve the inner experience with the outer. The perception of obstacles and barriers (walls) contrast with new and expansive insights, expressing the idea that there is "always a way through" (any obstacle).

INNER PORTRAITS
Inspired by vintage photographs, primarily portraits of children, I can't help but to wonder about each child's life. I use these images to create "Inner Portraits" where I express a moment in time that is viewed not only through the physical, but that represents psychological, spiritual, mental and emotional dimensions as well. The scraped and worked-over paint layers both hide and reveal fragments of words, numbers and images, alluding to those hidden states that, though present, are not visible to the camera's eye.