“Shelter (Our) Place” presents an intimate view of my lively home. Colorful and abstracted, the interior scenes vibrate with activity. Detailed compositions invite further inspection revealing recognizable details such as shoes and toys, instruments and laundry. Each object hints at the inhabitants daily pursuits- play, music and family. The exhibition features new pieces from my ongoing body of work, originally inspired by an experience as a caretaker for another couple’s home over ten years ago. Now raising two young sons with my husband, the domestic scenes frame the dual experience of both artist and mother. Notably, many works were created using printmaking techniques such as silkscreen, drypoint, relief and mono-printing.
As the current pandemic has dramatically shifted global and local focus towards life at home, and many had been collectively required to shelter in place, “Shelter (Our) Place” portrays a hopeful perspective of joyful communion, celebrating the connections found in the most ordinary and intimate spaces.
Preparing for the Next Day
Silkscreen edition of 7, 26” x 22”
Woven
Silkscreen edition of 7, 22” x 27”
Woven Variation
Silkscreen, ink and colored pencil, 22” x 27” Private collection
Relief on handmade paper, varied edition of four, 10” x 13”
Sink 2/4
Relief on handmade paper, varied edition of four, 10” x 13”
Twenty Four Seven
The varied edition Twenty Four Seven depicts my living room, which also serves as a play area for my three children, with vivid color on brightly hued handmade paper. As the title suggests, the room undergoes many changes throughout the day and night. Early mornings, cheerful play and generous sharing, give way to tearful transitions concluding with a peaceful melancholy as the sun sets and our day draws to an end. The wonders and challenges of each twenty four hour period are always passing and yet continually reencountered anew the following morning. The act of preparing and printing the plate serves to frame my perspective as both artist and mother. The inclusion of an easel in Twenty Four Seven hints at this dual role.
Twenty Four Seven 1/12 varied edition
Relief and intaglio on colored paper mounted on panel, 24” x 18”
Twenty Four Seven, 2/12 varied edition
Relief and intaglio on colored paper mounted on panel, 24” x 18”
Twenty Four Seven 3/12, varied edition
Relief and intaglio on colored paper mounted on panel, 24” x 18”
Twenty Four Seven 4/12, varied edition
Relief and intaglio on colored paper mounted on panel, 24” x 18”
Twenty Four Seven 5/12, varied edition
Relief and intaglio on colored paper mounted on panel, 24” x 18”
Twenty Four Seven, 6/12
Relief and intaglio on colored paper mounted on panel, 24” x 18”
Jacob's Ladder
The first six images of the Jacob’s Ladder series presents a view looking up my staircase. I am planning to complete the series with the next six images looking down the staircase and the final image overlapping the two perspectives.
As indicated by the title Jacob’s Ladder, the series was inspired by the story of Jacob’s supernatural dream of angels ascending and descending heaven, found in Genesis. The imagery of the dream is hauntingly beautiful. In my own home, the staircase is a necessary architectural feature but also presents potential danger to the two youngest inhabitants, children under the age of three, hence the gate.
The baby gate functions as the focal point to the composition with its open position encouraging the viewer to imagine entering the space and climbing the stairs. Rather than depict the scene literally, multiple perspectives and noticeable seams between the individual tiles alter the interior scene. Found paper, layers of saturated hues and other imagery cause the depiction to shift in and out of focus. By both repeating and abstracting the image, the series hints at the characteristics of the spaces inhabitants and the liveliness of their daily activity in an open-ended way. And as the title indicates, the work hints at an expectation of an unexplained interruption from a heavenly source.
Jacob's Ladder 1/13
Mixed media collage varied edition, 72” x 40”
Jacob's Ladder 1/13 detail
Jacob's Ladder 2/13
Mixed media collage varied edition, 72” x 40”
Jacob's Ladder 2/13 detail
Jacob's Ladder 3/13
Mixed media collage varied edition, 72” x 40”
Jacob's Ladder 3/13 detail
Throne Time Out Chair
I participated in Phoenix Rising Printmaking Cooperative's twentieth anniversary celebration with BIG INK fall of 2018. Twenty-one other printmakers including invited artists from throughout the state and Phoenix members also carved relief blocks printed during the event.
My piece, Throne Time Out Chair was inspired by a moment when my children adorned our mid-century chair with a play mop and broom by hanging them onto the chair’s arms, transforming it into a mock throne. The same chair’s ongoing use had been as a location for time-outs. I was struck by a single object’s ability to both represent authority to be exerted elsewhere, as well as authority removed and limited to an isolated location.
In the finished image, an abstracted depiction of the broom is still hanging while the mop is lying across the floor. The door behind the chair is represented as both opening and closing, further expanding the narrative.
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably)
Commission for Nationwide Mutual Insurance on display in the Plaza One building
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably) 1/3
Mixed media collage varied edition, 32” x 32”
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably) 1/3 detail
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably) 2/3
Mixed media collage varied edition, 32” x 32”
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably) 2/3 detail
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably) 3/3
Mixed media collage varied edition, 32” x 32”
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably) 3/3 detail
Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably) 3/3 detail
Study for Shelter (changing, especially unpredictably)
Mixed media collage varied edition, 8” x 8” - private collection
Trains
My children rotate almost daily between their current favorite toys- blocks, cars, and trains. In "Trains," the furniture is found lined up to accommodate their committed occupation, conducting a procession of locomotives over, around, and through carefully laid track. With the series, I chose to treat each silkscreen individually, manipulating ink and overlapping parts of the image upside-down. Within the series, some of the prints provide an easily recognizable representation of the space while others break down the image to suggest the topsy-turvy nature of parenting.
Trains 1/14
Silkscreen varied edition, 16” x 20” - private collection
Trains 2/14
Silkscreen with collage, varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20” - private collection
Trains 3/14
Silkscreen varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20”
Trains 4/14
Silkscreen varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20”
Trains 5/14
Silkscreen varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20”
Trains 6/14
Silkscreen varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20”
Trains 8/14
Silkscreen varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20”
Trains 9/14
Silkscreen varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20”
Trains 10/14
Silkscreen varied edition of fourteen, 16” x 20”
Friday Afternoon
Friday Afternoon 2/6
Mixed media collage on panel, varied edition; 22" x 26" - private collection
Friday Afternoon 1/6
Mixed media collage on panel, varied edition; 22" x 26" - private collection
Friday Afternoon 3/6
Mixed media collage mounted on panel, varied edition; 22" x 26" -
Friday Afternoon 4/6
Mixed media collage mounted on panel, varied edition; 22" x 26"
Friday Afternoon 5/6
Mixed media collage mounted on panel, varied edition; 22" x 26"
Friday Afternoon 6/6
Mixed media collage mounted on panel, varied edition; 22" x 26"
Small Varied Edition Works
A Kindly Waiting 2/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5” Private collection
A Kindly Waiting 1/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
A Kindly Waiting 3/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
A Kindly Waiting 4/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
A Kindly Waiting 5/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
Goldilocks 1/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
Goldilocks 2/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
Goldilocks 3/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5” Private collection
Goldilocks 4/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
Goldilocks 5/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
To Do Ta Da 1/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
To Do Ta Da 2/6
Relief and colored pencil, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
To Do Ta Da 6/6
Relief and colored pencil on paper, varied edition of 6, 9.5” x 9.5”
Interior Collages
Kitchen View
Mixed media on panel, 12" x 12," - Commission for the Greater Columbus Convention Center Art Collection
Amarylith
Mixed media collage on panel, 13.5" x 21" - private collection
Tidy Cacti
Mixed media collage on panel, 14.5" x 18.5" - private collection
Threw the Ground
Mixed media on panel, 12” x 9,” private collection
Drapery Study Green Tea
Mixed media collage on panel, 18” x 21”
Building a Sanctuary
Mixed media collage on paper, 32.5" x 28.5” - private collection
Outgrowth
Mixed media on panel, 12" x 12" - private collection
Domestic Partners I
Mixed media on paper mounted on panel - private collection
Domestic Partners II
Mixed media on paper mounted on panel - private collection
Spring Cleaning
Mixed media on paper mounted on panel, 9" x 12"
Utopia Desert Haze
Mixed media collage on paper - private collection
What I Can Hear from My Kitchen
Mixed media collage on paper - private collection
Westminster Kitchen Dream
Mixed media on paper, 10" x 8" - private collection
Long Enough to Hear an Echo
Mixed media on paper - 10" x 8" - included in the Hilton Downtown Columbus collection
Stairway
Mixed media on paper - Framed 10.5" x 8.5" - included in the Hilton Downtown Columbus collection
This bookcase flys away
Mixed media collage - 10" x 8" - private collection
This Island We Live On
He Remembers that We are Dust
Oil on Canvas - 48" x 36" - private collection
Growing to be Grown
Oil on Canvas - 16" x 20" - private collection
Listens
Oil on canvas - 27" x 21" - private collection
Neighbor
Mixed media collage on paper - 12" x 9"
Lime Green Bedroom
Mixed media on paper - 12" x 9" - private collection
What happens in a parking lot stays in a parking lot
Mixed media on paper - 12" x 9" - private collection
Symphony
Mixed media collage on paper - 12" x 9"
Building Up
Mixed media on paper - 12" x 9" - private collection
Small Blue House
Mixed media collage on paper - 12" x 9"
Marriage
Mixed media on paper - 12" x 9"
The Sign
Oil on Canvas - 18" x 18"
Construction
Oil on Canvas - 44" x 40"
Building One and Building Two
Mixed media collage on paper, framed 20.5" x 16.5" each Building Two - private collection
Startdust Staredust Stirdust was a solo exhibition at Wild Goose Creative in Columbus, Ohio in 2010.
Night
Installation at The Luminary Center for the Arts in St. Louis, Missouri as a part of the When We Build Let Us Think We Build Forever exhibition in 2009.
Mobility
Roundtrip
Painted wood, size variable
Wait/Weight
India ink on paper, 48" x 72"
Wait/Weight (detail)
India ink on paper, 48" x 72"
Wait/Weight (detail)
India ink on paper, 48" x 72"
Aerial Project Frame
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - private collection
Flattened for the Downstroke
Mixed media collage on paper, 12" x 9"
Backward viewers (rooms I have lived in)
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - unavailable
Crowd Lines
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - private collection
Faces
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - unavailable
Ghost (or I kicked my kickstand off so my bike is always on the move)
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - private collection
I have met much more than I can remember
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - private collection
Leads
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - unavailable
Twisted for the Upstroke
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - private collection
The Lights (at one place)
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - private collection
What our Galaxy is made of
Mixed media, 12" x 9" - private collection
Normally seen as a bright ring girdling the earth is shown here in a flat
Mixed media collage, 12" x 9"
The Twisting Feathers that Propel Birds Forward
Mixed media collage, 12" x 9" - private collection
Time passing passing time
Mixed media collage, 12" x 9"
Ugly Pigeons
Mixed media collage on paper, 12" x 9"
Some things don't fit in packed bags
Mixed media collage on paper, 12" x 9" - private collection
