Ramona Candy

Movement is my method. I danced from the time I was very young, majored in art in school and continued to perform throughout. Eventually, I became a dancer with an African-Caribbean dance company where I performed for over 20 years. As dancer, I found voice, passion, and my connection with culture and personal heritage. My visual art continues the exploration of cultural consciousness. Memories are visited, rhythms emerge and movement is constant!

Whether in collage or the chine collé of printmaking, I choreograph until shapes and colors come together like dancers onstage. I begin my collages with an acrylic wash, then layer papers creating excitement and spontaneity. Once the inking process is complete on a monotype or photo-etching, paper is introduced. To a choreographer, it's as important that your dancers make individual statements as it is for them to be a voice within the ensemble. So is it with my work on paper and canvas - individual elements expressing their own uniqueness, while joining to create the whole.

Though not performing often, I continue to involve myself in my community. I currently teach dance workshops at St. Joseph's College, where I also sit on the Arts Council and I once served as Artist-in-Reside...