Artist Statement

For over two decades the content of my artwork has addressed issues of social concern. Pausing to examine the details of current events, my work is a personal attempt to both humanize tragedy and combat the numbing effects of a media-saturated culture.  

Typically, I work on several projects simultaneously. Past work addressed the nearly twenty-year war in Afghanistan, the clandestine U.S. drone program in Pakistan, the Syrian refugee crisis and the first Trump presidency. Gun violence and political turmoil within the United States are subjects I continue to explore in my studio practice.

For many years the American flag has been one theme of my drawings, prints and 3D work. A current installation project, “Loaded”, is comprised of several components including a U.S. flag made with my blood, gunpowder, bullet casings and embroidery floss. During a recent printmaking residency, I continued to explore this image in a series entitled “Deconstructed Flags”.

Yet two unexpected experiences have recently expanded my creative process, pushing me to step back from the difficult subject matter my work typically investigates. 

Walking in the nearby woods in 2024 I discovered a scattering of blue feathers on the forest floor, evidence of a predator attack and a quiet reminder of nature’s complex splendor. I collected these and others and began translating them into monoprints, large scale graphite drawings, and detailed colored pencil drawings on Mylar. The silky surface of the Mylar allows me to apply color in thinly layered veils as I observe the nuance of my subject in this “Feather” series, which becomes a form of meditation for me.  

Then in March of 2025, I spent a week in silence at a Theravadan Buddhist retreat center with one hundred women, a refuge from the disturbing world events surrounding us. Returning home I began to explore new abstract imagery.  Another printmaking residency resulted in a suite of prints entitled “Response”, continuing my investigation of the US flag icon. Sometimes incorporating feather imagery and Chine-collé, these monoprints incorporate transparent, and often textured, layers of red, white and blue suggesting the possibility of mitigating the grief that unfolds around us daily. 

In our highly politicized and polarized world, art can offer necessary critique, as well as relief. These drawings and prints are an antidote to the challenging bodies of work I pursue in tandem. They remind me of the fragile beauty which is always available, even in this overwhelming time, and – I hope – offer similar solace to those who view them.