The work in Wonderlust was created over the past three years and veers between the recognizable and the abstract. The imagery is derived from the physicality of the world but is guided by the subconscious. I am exploring how abstraction gives form to things residing in and imprinted on our subconscious. Working in a wide range of media, moving from textile and printmaking to painting and mixed media, I use the constraints of each medium to intercede on one another. The structure of collage allows for play and multiple points-of-view, creating a channel to a subconscious world. The structure for these latest works relies heavily on the imprint of organic shapes and forms derived from nature. My art-making process can be related to moving through the woods – both having the nature of a meandering flow. I am working to create a language that reveals itself to me in a ritualistic approach to process with constant recombination of material.

A bit about this textile work...

‘Prowling the Undergrowth’ is a piece that was realized in 2020 and worked on intensely for a matter of months. I relish my time time moving through woods, observing the structures and shapes of, and between,  trees and plants that loosely hold together, recognizing the duality of stagnation and movement. Trying to capture many moments in time, in one piece, is always a puzzle to solve and a constant element in collage, a form that enters into my painting format frequently.  Nature  certainly has a steady and profound effect on us and I wanted to relay this through a physically large, tactile work. I love that it is finally installed in a community, a word that has been hard to realize in the physical sense, these past two years. I hope the viewer brings their own experiences when surrounded by this tactile work.

These latest works combine abstraction and illusion in a somewhat theatrical or surreal event. Working in a collage sensibility, images coalesce and collapse almost simultaneously, skirting the edge of illusion and abstraction. Fragments of paintings, drawings both hand and digital, play a big role in the crafting of space in these works. Each painting attempts to hold on to a moment led by the subconscious and bordering on slipping away.

This work is made in collaboration with Reading Road studios. I continue to work with Reading Road studio to explore the media of handmade artist paper.  This media is a great playgound to explore textile, paint and printmaking.  My recent work has explored textiles embedded in the pulp paper works.