“Open-Ended Communication” is a transitional piece that creates a pathway from the envelope-specific pieces (In The Clear, Going Forth) early in this series to more conceptual pieces (Once Upon A Time, Lifelong Buddies). The focal point in this piece is the small central envelope, which was originally created to stand on its own. The brown […]
Titled, “In The Clear”, this piece is dear to me for the sense of joy it conveys. Several years ago, a friend gave me a page from a French magazine printed in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The image on the page was of dozens of butterflies (papillons) happily hovering over flowers. I envisioned […]
An envelope is something that wraps around, encloses and contains. But, an envelope can be more than just a piece of paper. It can be a symbol loaded with memories and emotions. You open the mailbox and there it is: Puffy or flat. Clean or scuffed up. White, brown, green, pink, blue, yellow, or red. Does it have that little […]
Another piece for the Threads of the Past exhibit, “Lifelong Buddies” shows a photo of my dad and his college friend. My dad went to a very small college. Very small – his graduating class had fewer than 2 dozen people. He and his classmates formed close friendships that lasted rest of their lives. I have […]
“Sweet Marie” is one more piece that I made for the Threads of the Past exhibit. The little girl in “Sweet Marie” came from an old scrapbook from the 1880s. Something in her pose and expression remind me of my grandmother, so I have named this piece after her. My grandmother wasn’t born till the 1900s, […]
This collage titled “Once Upon A Time” is another of the pieces I made for our “Threads of the Past” show at Uncommon Art. The photo is of my parents drinking a toast on their wedding day. Behind them is sheet music for “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”, which has the lyrics: There are loved […]
For our “Threads of the Past” show, I made several pieces of artwork, including this one, inspired by family. My mom loved to quilt, and made many during her lifetime. This Tree Of Life quilt was one of her first. She made it in 1990 and it’s one I have always loved. I used it as […]
“Spring Summer Autumn Winter” is a 4-part collage (quadriptych) that shows the same tree scene as imagined across the four seasons. The trees were inspired by a recent boating trip along the Canal du Midi in France. Here’s a photo that I took during the trip and used for inspiration: I found the shapes of […]
This piece was inspired by the forests in Oregon, where the trees are impossibly tall and seem go on forever. I was struck by how hard it was to see the individual trees because there were so many. They seemed to be defined by the space around them rather than by themselves. I wanted to […]
It’s been a while since my last series of artwork for Art-o-mat, and I’ve missed making them. I really enjoy working on these series, and love seeing these little guys come together. This series is a bit different than my earlier ones. (See some of them here: Miles of Paintings.) My larger artwork has been exploring […]