Artist Statement
Growing up in upstate New York, my summers were spent living on the water with my family in a 31-foot boat. My father’s love of traveling by water and living in nature was passed down to me.
I am fascinated by the energy, forms, and colors found in nature. My multi-component sculptures and acrylic paintings are created using natural processes. One such process is nuno felting, where wool and silk are integrated using warm soapy water and agitation.
I always hand dye my pieces and strive to create natural colorations. Although not all my dye colors are obtained from nature, I love to use rusty objects to dye some of my pieces. Another way I work in partnership with nature is allowing evaporation to play a role in my dyeing process. I pour the dye on the silk and let it evaporate to create unique organic patterns.
Silk has been my preferred material because of its diaphanous qualities. Small sculptures are stitched to linen circles like specimens and can be installed as collections. Larger components are suspended to create variable aerial compositions. These pieces can command a space while concurrently feeling weightless and free-floating.
I work with paint in its fluid form and manipulate it to imitate natural occurrences such as the sky, ice, decay, rushing water, and patterns created by wind and rain. I’m in partnership with the laws of nature when I allow the paint to run, puddle and evaporate.
Education:
1983-1988 Moore College of Art and Design Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bachelor’s degree of Fine Arts in Fashion Design,
Post-Graduate Study in Painting and Sculpture
Selected Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Dawning, ArtBox @ Lincoln Square | The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Ocean Blues 2 Commerce Square, Philadelphia, PA (InLiquid)
2019 Affluent, Pennswood Art Gallery, Newtown, PA
2017 Confluence, Mala Galleria, Kennett Square, PA
2017 The Beach and Beyond, Camp Rehoboth, Rehoboth Beach, DE
2016 Fluent, Delaware Division of the Arts, Mezzanine Gallery Wilmington, DE (Fellowship)
2015 Overflowing, Crane Arts Building, Hall (InLiquid), Philadelphia, PA 2014 Crescendo, Mala Galleria,Kennett Square, PA
2013 Oceans, Isles and Shoals, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA
2011 Outpouring, Delaware Division of the Arts, Mezzanine Gallery, Wilmington, DE
2011 Waterways, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Hatch Gallery), Wilmington, DE
2004, 2008 Annual Arden Fair Arden, DE
Group Exhibitions
2019 Juried Craft Exhibition, The Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE (Juror, Paul Sacaridiz)
Catalyze, Cambridge Innovation Center, Philadelphia, PA
2018 Flow, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (curated by CFEVA)
2017 Biggs Picture Juried Landscape Competetion, Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, DE (Juror, Jason Rosenfeld)
2017 Elemental, InLiquid @ Lacey and Phillips Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2015 Sky Frame, 2 Commerce Square, Philadelphia (InLiquid)
2015 POST, Park Towne Place, Philadelphia (InLiquid)
2013 Five in Fiber, Gallery 37, Milford, DE
Broad Spectrum: Members’ Juried Show, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Juror, Molly Donavan)
2012 Art in the Open, Philadelphia, Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Vanity Fare, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts Reading, PA (Jurors, Lyn Godley, Pam Ptak)
FiberPhiladelphia, Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA (Jurors, Elisabeth Agro, Bruce D. Hoffman)
2011 RSVP Invitational, LGTripp Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
3rd Street Gallery Community Exhibit, 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 NEW: Members’ Juried Show, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Juror, Roberta Fallon)
National Small Works Painting, The Main Street Gallery, Groton, NY (Jurors, Mariann Loveland, Roger Smith)
2009 On the Fringe of Fiber, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA (Juror, K. Pannepacker)
The Possibilities of Pause, Delaware Art Musuem, Wilmington, DE (Juror, Carina Evangelista)
2008 Essential Elements, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
The Natural World, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts Reading, PA (Juror, Robert P. Metzger)
Natural Progression, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Hatch Gallery) Wilmington, DE
2006, 2007 Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
Public Art
2015 Arden Fair Community Murals, Arden, DE
2018 Buzz Ware Village Center Mural, Arden, DE
2019 Cambridge Innovation Center, Sculpture Acquisition, Philadelphia, PA
Grants
2018 Delaware Division of the Arts, Opportunity Grant
2016 Delaware Division of the Arts, Emerging Fellowship in Painting
2014 Delaware Division of the Arts, Fellowship Honorable Mention
2013 Delaware Division of the Arts, Opportunity Grant
2012 Delaware Division of the Arts, Opportunity Grant
2003 Delaware Division of the Arts, Artist in Residence Wilmington Montessori School
2002 Delaware Division of the Arts, Artist in Residence Mt. Pleasant Elementary School
Publications:
2015 Studio Visit, Volume Twenty-Seven