artist statement
I would like to take you on my journey.
Each of us experiences our own personal journeys individually and collectively. My artistic journey began at an early age and developed throughout the years. Some specific experiences and opportunities along the way had particularly lasting effects: A high school trip to MOMA in New York City, art classes at UCLA, graduate school at the University of Illinois, a forty-year teaching career in art as an Art Resource Teacher in the elementary grades, and as a Lecturer of Art at San Diego State University.
Since my retirement from teaching in 2008, my personal goal is to create a body of work that is
reflective of who I am and what I see. While my dedication to teaching art was a primary career,
developing as a professional artist has become my focus.
Who and what has inspired me? Over the years, my art has been informed by so many artists — here are just a few: Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Richard Diebenkorn, Stuart Davis, and the
Pattern and Decoration Movement. International travels to Southeast Asia, Europe, Mexico, Cuba, Russia, China, Japan, Israel and Turkey — all have influenced my use of color, line, pattern and context. Textile fabrics, aerial landscapes, and primitive art along with my many years of teaching design, art history and composition to students have also inspired my art.
For me, my paintings begin with a visual idea, and in the initial stage, the painting becomes
both an additive and reductive process. As the work progresses and moves forward, so does the
rethinking of the original concept or idea. And through the creative process, the piece begins to
take shape as I manipulate the painted areas.
As my work is intrinsically connected to my own personal experiences, I use metaphors and
symbolic images to express my points of view. As the artist, my hope is for the viewer to experience and to respond with some connection — perhaps to a color, an image, or simply to the title of the piece. And, with this connection, a conversation might occur.