Artist Statement March 16, 2009

The Listener

 

 

My work deals with the arrangement and rearrangement of the Self. My collages are tower-like, sometimes flowering precarious balances of odd and repeating shapes. They are about the simple things in life, and the things we do in repetition and rhythm that help maintain a stabilized existence. There are resting places and openings amidst the child-like stackings that offer a meditational spot or thinking place.  

The shapes are cut from discontinued wallpaper as well as wallpaper painted with acrylics. I like to use the imagery and texture from the wallpaper as a “found” element in my work, and also be able to control my palette by painting the paper. I appreciate the sharpness and definiteness of the cut shapes. I deeply enjoy using the scissors. I work at arranging the shapes until they make sense and then glue them down onto painted boards. I finish with high-gloss polyurethane.

The boards come from recycled art crates and I make my own frames from scrap wood.