Girl Conversing with Her Bird Painting

Navigating the many roles I play as a Mother, a homemaker, an educator, and a woman informs my every move as an artist. Issues related to identity and ambiguity are paired with moments of calm and organic chaos. These interaction are supported by physical responses to materials. The act of pulling off paint, sanding down surfaces and constructing both two and three dimensional forms drives my process. Working this way provides great satisfaction in that each time a material is taken away, it leaves behind an inescapable residue of the former. To me this is similar to how life unfolds. Shifts in ideas, textures, colors, all interplay, lead me down a path I could never anticipate. Although I consider myself a painter’s painter, working across disciplines allows me to adapt and change. It forces me to reinvent, and reimagine how and what I am trying to say within each piece. I think the greatest factor that inform my work is physical responses to the materials I use, whether that be paint or sculptural forms, each surface holds a tension that rests between violence and protection. I find working this way yields countless opportunities for resurrection, revelation and renewal. Other aspects that relate to physicality is my repose to paint and how I have aligned my work with the figurative tradition. My work is very much about the physical process that encompasses making something tangible. Holding onto my family, loving my kids, protecting them from the violence that is the world around is my role. My paintings and sculptures are my way of making sense of the uncertainty that is life. Navigating my life as a single mother and an artist has fueled each and every move of this show. With each piece there is a sustained effort to hold on to my babies and keep them safe.