Artist Statement

I introduce non-traditional materials into traditional painting and sculpting techniques with a strong emphasis on surface treatment and investigation of scale. My paintings become sculptures through the use of mixed media (e.g., cement, dirt, plaster, mica, perlite, and other natural materials), creating a highly textural surface for typically larger scale works. I have devised a process where I embed wet cement into the fibers of canvas creating an archival solid, concrete, surface for sculpting. I introduce acrylic based chemicals into my cement mixtures to bond each layer of cement to the under layers. My pieces reference bas relief sculpture but they are created by additive processes rather than subtractive.

My intent is to engage the viewer in both a two-dimensional and three-dimensional visceral experience with a teasing desire to touch. I incorporate figurative elements into my surfaces to reveal a layer of human psychology and ignite deeper facets of imagination and interpretation. While referencing the microcosm and macrocosm of the earth and its properties, both physical and metaphysical, I create images to stimulate intrigue and wonder in the history of the earth and humanity.

I reference the aesthetic beauty of mountains, the insides of caves, the cracks in the sidewalk, peeling paint, naturally occurring layers of color and other textural surfaces for my abstract paintings. I love to use "deliberate chance" in creating interesting effects with acrylic paint and create fascinating effects using alternative methods of paint application.

Images of cast figures from Pompeii, Bog People found in North Western Europe,
and mummies preserved in the mountains of Chile and Siberia resonate in my mind. The daily conventions, sacramental rituals, and ceremonies of these people fascinate me. When I study the images of perfectly preserved mummies, unexplainable and extraordinary personal connections immediately form in my imagination. Captivated and seduced by the aesthetic beauty of their images frozen in time, I create painterly and sculptural images to bring reverence to their lives.

Artists that have deeply impacted my work include Mark Rothko, Magdelena Abakonowicz, Kiki Smith, Antony Gormley, Camille Claudel, Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Kathe Kollwitz, and Anselm Keifer.