ARTIST STATEMENT

My artwork comes out of my interest in the endless variety of the natural world. Art seems to be the perfect vehicle for responding to what I see (not to mention the perfect excuse for spending a lot of time outside.)

Irene, Pete, Sara

Sometimes my images reflect my observation directly; other times they are a more abstract interpretation of an experience, place, and time. In either case, I remain fascinated by nature's extravagant design.

Most of what I do relates to my background in printmaking. In the last few years I have become very interested in expanding the range of the materials I work with, as well as the size of my pieces. This has resulted in recent excursions into carved wood, plastic, glass, and mosaic tile.

June 2008

This has been a busy spring. I took a leap of faith and borrowed enough money to finish my studio. I will finally be able to move printing operations out of the house and into this beautiful building. There may even be enough money left in the loan to buy an etching press to go into the studio (siding can wait!) There are some good things about living where there are no building codes. Now, to pay that loan back. . .

I spent three weeks in April in the small southeast Alaska community of Petersburg, working with their elementary school on mosaic tile projects through the state’s Artists in the Schools Program.

Young Artist at Work

The students and I had a great time together, and we ended up with eight 4’x4’ mosaic panels that will be mounted on the outside of the school over the summer. It was fun to see a very different part of the state and to have a chance to work with young artists.

I had the good fortune to be one of four artists selected this summer for a residency through the Park Service in Denali National Park. I spent many summers working jobs in the park, but never had much time for making art. This will be a welcome change. I’ll be in Denali for the first two weeks of July.

I am focusing most of my attention right now on my upcoming solo exhibition at the Anchorage Museum in December of this year. The exhibit will include prints, carved panels, and mosaic tile pieces around the theme of water.