As an artist, I am a lover of line. Lines hold for me many deeply rooted personal associations. I enjoyed exploring the natural world as a child, so my lines echo the intricacy of branches, spider webs, roots and vines. I studied dance in my teens, so my lines trace the pathways of the human form whirling through open space. My working career began in the fashion industry, so my lines mimic the twisting and looping fibers of fabric weaves. I am a writer as well as an artist, so my lines transcribe the patterns of hand-written calligraphy and printed text.
The lines in my paintings combine all of these influences, experiences and interests to describe a sense of joyful motion and cyclical energy. They tell a story – not a clear-cut narrative, but the suggestion of ever-unfolding change through alternating tension and release. They celebrate the rhythms of life.
To create these works, I use fluid acrylic paint, extruded from squeeze bottles, in a motion that unites calligraphic form with gestural drawing. I then lay a sheet of paper over the squirted marks and run over it with a brayer, so that the lines are flattened, making them wider and softer. Sometimes I collage layers of paper or fabric that have also been covered with lines onto the painting’s surface to extend the impression of dimension. Thus my work incorporates the processes of drawing, painting, printmaking and collage.
I was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and grew up in Massachusetts. My interest in textiles and drawing led me to a degree in fashion design and work as assistant to a Boston couturier. Then a position at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston sparked my interest in painting. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Lesley University, I went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. I have exhibited my work at the Embassies in Cameroon and Oman through the ART In Embassies Program, as well as in solo shows at the Genovese/Sullivan Gallery in Boston and the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, Massachusetts. My work is included in numerous corporate collections such as Berkshire Partners and the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, and I am the recipient of a grant from the St. Botolph Club Foundation.
