Artist Statement

I create abstract collage works by “painting”
with fragments of collected paper and recycled imagery. All the collages are unique and hand made of original source materials.

Re-purposing of materials, and in some senses, of my life direction, come together in my collage work. The pieces are often meditations on my life experience. Experiments with color, composition, texture, and movement generally address an ongoing interest in time, balance, and growth.

My work ranges in style from somewhat representational to completely abstract, whimsical to sophisticated.

I hope that the combinations of elements within each piece and the layered nature of the collages will invite repeated exploration and discovery.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Process

A collage may begin with a premise—or simply an evocative piece of paper. Like a puzzle, the composition evolves one piece at a time. A certain amount of serendipity is involved in the process as I search for the next perfect element to add. Paper scraps fill bins and shelves in my studio “col-laboratory”—along with magazines and other papers waiting to be sifted through for possible use.

Each paper element is soaked in water. A gluing medium is applied to the bottom, and then over the surface, sealing the collage together in a way that blends the papers into a cohesive structure. As the artwork evolves, I continue to cut, crop, rip, arrange, and layer, making decisions about what works and what is needed next to complete the composition. Eventually, the selected elements and layers combine to create new imagery that yields fresh associations and meanings.