Dervishing Drawing

I am a mixed media artist working primarily in cold wax and oil, and encaustic, with ample portions of other drawing and painting media mixed in as needed. I find great satisfaction in the marriage of seemingly ill suited materials, a nod to my first love of collage and assemblage. Although the majority of my work is technically two dimensional, much of my work features three dimensional sculptural elements that taunt the viewer with the suggestion of another layer, plane or surface of perspective – obscured or exposed- exploring the notion that not all is revealed or understood upon first blush or experience. I work abstractly in an effort to reconcile seemingly disparate contexts, materials and mark making methods; for me, harmony often resides in the recognition of dissonance. If it feels counter intuitive, I am likely attracted to it, and will explore it. My painting and drawing work explores the juxtaposition of the organic and linear, the sparse and saturated, with color playing a major role. My encaustic work focuses on the minimalist aesthetic of subtle variation within repetition and pattern. Why this toggling between movement filled colorful abstract drawings, pared down geometric studies in wax? For me, these notions reflect an everyday struggle – the perennial too much/not enough paradigm our current society jockeys within, and with which I grapple myself. Which is it? Does it depend on the day, the mood, the company you keep? Is there great solace in austerity, or presumed safety in indulgence? I explore these concepts by building up or stripping down layers of tension and release with color, line, form and pattern. I was born in Washington D.C and spent the balance of my young adult life in Massachusetts and New England. Following my college studies, I continued to develop my own art practice, while managing several art galleries featuring contemporary work in sculpture, ceramics, and painting, from East Africa to China & the U.S. I currently live and work in the Western North Carolina Mountain region of the U.S. My work has been exhibited in galleries and collections in Massachusetts, New York, California, North Carolina, and the U.K. I am currently represented by Contemporaneo Asheville Gallery, in the burgeoning city of Asheville, NC. I facilitate and conduct workshops in encaustic, cold wax and mixed media both at the Contemporaneo Gallery and in my own studio.