What is all this about, this layering of disparate ideas and materials?
I use found objects, papers, pictures, newspaper clippings, post cards, and photographs – in other words, the detritus I’ve accumulated over the years – and assemble them into unique works of art. The ephemera I pull from represent a long and complex personal life. Repurposing these materials allows me to make sense of the past and to clarify and express internal narratives. This technique accommodates a lifelong obsession with news of the world-at-large. In response to this arguably unhealthy appetite for and consumption of political trends and global happenings, I layer, obscure, tear, cut and organize materials into collages that respond to current events. By doing this, I’m able to impose some small measure of order on the chaos I perceive around me. Most recently I’ve mined the thousands of photographs I’ve taken of family and friends, layering them using translucent fabric and encaustic.
Since I began working in collage more than a dozen years ago, I have noted with some surprise the continuity of my ideas, even as the raw materials and techniques I use have expanded. The evolution of my process, which frequently doubles back on itself, delights me. The intricacy of the images remains a constant. My hope is that viewers will sort through the details presented, impose their own stories, and walk away with greater insights into themselves, the world, and perhaps the artist herself.