As the world becomes
more complex, I find that visual approaches help me communicate with
people of vastly different backgrounds.
I have a passion for sketching people, especially live human subjects. Aside from community classes in my youth, a couple freshman-level introductory classes in college, and a handful of courses here at CHAW, I’m self-taught and over the years have spent hours upon hours filling sketchbooks. One of my favorite pastimes is taking my sketchbook and pen to a coffee shop to draw fellow patrons, or quickly capturing other commuters’ poses/essences when riding on Metro/bus.
When I arrived at college, escaping West Virginia, yay!, I was an oblivious 17-year-old. I joined a curriculum that was really training, indoctrination, attack therapy, and an artifact of 1930s pedagogy: architecture school.
My first artistic attempts at capturing my children with a camera were not as satisfying as I wanted them to be, so I signed up for photography classes at CHAW. I liked it so much, I returned for more classes and eventually obtained a Master’s in New Media Photojournalism from the Corcoran.
I compare my pieces to political cartoons, but with textiles and buttons rather than pen and
paper. Each of my hangings tells a story, describes an experience, or illustrates the double
standards of which we are all guilty.
I went home and told my aunts, who were REAL artists. They told me to paint what I wanted AND gave me better brushes.
my paintings are inspired by watercolors themselves – they engulf and permeate each other, they go where they please.
my paintings are inspired by watercolors themselves – they engulf and permeate each other, they go where they please.
Ever since childhood, nature has been my sanctuary where I catch my breath and meditate on the spiritual bond I experience when I’m totally immersed in its beauty. It is this deep personal connection and the childlike wonder of our natural world that I wish to share with others to motivate them to cherish and preserve the environment that I hold so dear to my heart. I want to bring attention to our codependent relationship we share with nature, how it can heal the soul and bring a sense of solace in our otherwise chaotic society.