Inspiration
Home, being at home, the feeling of home – this is the impetus for all I do. Creating an atmosphere where everything feels comfortable but not hodgepodge, clean but not sparse, spunky but not off kilter…this is what I want anyone entering my home to experience. My art is a refuge, too, representing Western and Eastern Washington landscapes.
I am lucky to live on both sides of the Cascades Mountain Range. Newcastle is damp and green. On a clear day, you can look west to the Olympics and south to Mount Rainer. There is water everywhere: lakes, rivers, seas, Puget Sound and the Pacific. In contrast, Orondo is nestled against the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Chelan. There are orchards, arid canyons, and definite seasons. The mountains are velvet hills against a big blue bowl of sky.
My primary studio is located there, in Desert Canyon. My art is intentionally graphic. Alcohol ink is traditionally used in billowy abstracts, but I’m not going to leave you guessing at what you are seeing. My art is souvenirs invoking memories you get only when visiting the exquisite Pacific Northwest. It is our connection, yours and mine, to what represents home.
Process
I produce mixed media landscape collage. My primary materials are alcohol ink on synthetic papers, oxidized papers, and minimal recycled/sourced papers. Occasionally, I incorporate acrylics, resin and wire.
Over 90% of the materials in a given composition begin as original papers. Each original alcohol ink paper is burnt to represent a specific shape, such as a rock, branch, tree line, mountain or body of water. The pieces are assembled into a landscape using a dimensional adhesive. Each piece has a layered aspect.
Because most of each composition is alcohol ink and paper, I use specific finishes and protectants, and use traditional décor frames for both protection and final display.