ARTIST STATEMENT

I construct what I call Paper Mosaics.  A driving force behind my work has been the exploration of the properties of paper as a “painting” medium.  I enjoy working with paper because of its tactile qualities.  Paper can be rough, smooth, rich, coarse, delicate, lacey and strong.   Tearing, cutting, and ripping thousands of bits of paper by hand, I build up rich images and environments.  For example, in the “Spiraling Seasons” series, I painted watercolor paper and hand cut each spiral to provide a rich bark-like texture to each tree.  Spirals were used to symbolize the eternal life giving properties of nature in general and trees in particular.

My recent work is inspired by my study of chaos theory or more appropriately named- the study of dynamic systems.  These works explore themes of repetition, pattern and symmetry. The “Self Similarity” series represents the reproduction of form in which positive and negative space mimic each other on different scales.  “Infinity” illustrates the change and transformation of a pattern into infinite complexity.   In the process of working with these precise geometric forms, I did not want the experience to be an exercise in precision.  However, I found that the eye is such a sensitive instrument, slight variations in measurement, or a line that was not exactly perpendicular to another was not only perceivable to me but also disturbing.  Rather than strive to be more mechanical in my approach and strive to be more perfect, more precise and rigid, I found that I resisted these emotions and instead would strive to find the beauty in the subtle variations, the warbles and reverberations and ultimately in the minor imperfections as perceived by my mind’s eye.