Artist Statement

I love silence and have been on three 10-day retreats.

I have traveled this world as a visual occupant. From the very beginning my voice was inaudible—for a number of reasons—my heritage, my status as a woman in my family, my own inability to come to terms with words and their incongruities. Recently, I was listening to words of Dominican writer Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, who says everyone and particularly immigrant populations, "miss parts of most conversations for lack of comprehension." This seemed like a space that I occupied so totally. It was apparent to me that I sought out a language that was simple and universal at the same time. My images were primitive and not identifiable in any measure.  It seemed like me at the very early age of 8 as I created a world of people laughing, dancing, and basically enjoying each other in a diary like form. It seemed like me at the age of 18 doing portraits… when some realities were impinging their way in to the innocence of life.

I continued to do portraits but didn't discover my own voice until at 29, I began what has been called my signature style in black and white. I began this black and white discourse which was an intuitive process. It began as economy of tools and time and quickly took on a life of its own. I had a drawing skill but I also recognized a distinct attraction to its simplicity and the imperfection in the process. I felt that it mirrored my own need for simplicity and my own need for imperfection. In addition I experienced this competition with technology, which was in its early emersion in the 80's and knew I would lose. Clearly I thought authenticity is not always efficient, politically correct and fast.

Artist Statement 2010

Art plays an unknowing game with things. Just as a child at play imitates us, so we at play initiate the forces that created and are creating the world.”

— Paul Klee 1879-1940

I did visual journaling as a child but didn’t discover my own voice until at 29, I began what has been called my signature style in black and white. I began this black and white discourse which was essentially an intuitive process. My images were primitive at times and not identifiable at times in any measure of gender, race or culture. Recently, I was listening to words of Dominican writer Junot Diaz, (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) who says everyone and particularly immigrant populations, “miss parts of most conversations for lack of comprehension.” It was apparent to me that I sought out a language that was simple and universal at the same time.

The images are always inspired. With the black and white series, the simplest forms spoke to my need for connection. The layering of color produced the ancestor series which connected me to my family and ancestors. In my most recent journey with Water I life, I realize the connection to the entire DNA that is encoded in my body. This painting has taken on the voice of our connection to each other and to the natural world. Our need for a universal language for a global world and a dialogue about a world in which our r espect extends to the fibers that make us who we are—the earth and all its natural resources. Water is life.