Artist Statement
This body of work I refer to as composite compositions. Typically, etchings are one piece of copper (or several) of the same size which are run through the press one after another in different colors to create a multi colored work. The composite pieces are different in that they use multiple pieces of various sized copper to facilitate larger designs. In each piece I assemble etched, inked copper plates on the printing bed. From there I take chine collé papers or specialty papers that add color and texture. While wet and lightly dusted with wheat paste I layer them over the copper. Next, very gently, I unroll the background paper that is 100% cotton and thick enough to provide a base for the art. My challenge is to have everything inked, cut to size, assembled and run through the press in one pass creating a seamless, unique print.
That being the technical side, there is the artistic and motivational side. Everything I make has its origins in organic themes. Whether it is obvious like plants and flowers or refers to natural patterns, or if it is looking at nature from a scientific orientation like cells and molecules it all is cultivated from observations of nature. I am never at a loss to find beauty, inspiration, and also answers to artistic questions by paying close attention to the details of the natural world.
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. I spent my childhood out in the woods and creeks. I now live in New Mexico and thrive in the high desert landscape of rocks and cactus. Travelling too has always been an important theme in my life. I truly enjoy going anywhere as long as I’m “going”. Asia and India seem the most common threads, but I also am pulling from time spent in Iceland, New Zealand and the Middle East. Wherever I find myself I feel home if I am in nature.
