It has been said that art expresses the unarticulated needs of the world community. It’s sources are derived from all that is known and unknown, or as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu wrote …all of the ten thousand things.
For most of my life I have been sustained by images, memories, and stories that contain a sense of mystery, those that pose a question, or those that require an investigation of some sort. It is my practice to bear witness to the inner life of intuition and dreams. It is a world of symbols both personal and universal.
The written and spoken word of poetry, rich with undefined impressions leaves the mystery tended, but not fully explained. An elusive visual image engages our viewer’s eye and imagination in ways that a literal explanation does not. I resonate with Charles Simic’s phrase “the still moment of the eye grafted to the heart”, expressing a moment when the heart reads the meaning of a poem or painting.
Studio practice requires one to have an open mind, to cultivate a pregnant moment, and to have a core trust in intuition as it meets uncertainty. It is a way of continually energizing those qualities in my life. Hopefully, the viewer will come away with a sense of having been somewhere new, and yet, familiar.
What did the Fellowship or Laureate mean to you at the time you received it?
Receiving the Arts Council Fellowship award gave me a confidence in my work that I hadn't had until then. In addition, the funds enabled me to buy some new tools and materials - drills and sanders, wood for making panels - and therefore "grow" new work. Along with the Fellowship came a month's residency at Montalvo. The January I spent there was a rich and productive time to be in that lovely winter environment, developing my work and experimenting with new materials.
What do you do now? Has your art evolved or changed?
I still paint, though images have developed in content to include light and memory. I also make collages and assemblages that also evoke memory. Often, my studio has one of each of these ongoing at any given time.
What is one piece of advice you would give to an emerging artist?
Travel the world and make friends along the way, see art of all ages and materials, listen to music of all types and eras, read poetry and literature. Keep journals of experiences, thoughts, ideas, dreams, and wishes. Your life will be rich.
Briefly, how would you describe the state of the arts locally, as well as national and beyond?
An explosion of new expressions, materials, and media.