Artist Statement

As an artist, I am interested in our primal desire to create, decorate, record and communicate through mark making. I am drawn to patterns and lines that are simplistic in form and to weathered surfaces that suggest a passage of time. Folk art, ethnic textiles, primitive recordkeeping and outsider art are what inspire me. In these instances the marks and patterning, while deliberate, are more instinctual than schooled. They unexpectantly achieve a purity of expression that is unencumbered by compositional theories and critical rhetoric. This group of encaustic paintings reflect my interests as I work intuitively to combine basic visual elements. I usually start a painting with a general idea of colors and patterns that I want to use. However, I allow my ideas to evolve and sometimes change completely while developing a piece. The encaustic process of melting wax, layering, gouging and scraping is evident. This way of working challenges me to be less controlled, to trust in chance, and to recognize unpredicted opportunities.