In 1979 I received a BFA in painting from Kansas University. From that time to the present I lived in London, on both US coasts, and a variety of cities in between. I worked in an AIDS hospice; received 2 MFA’s, in painting and in ceramics, both from Washington University in Saint Louis; and taught art at Washington University in Saint Louis and Johnson County Community College. All the while I kept a consistent, thoughtful, dedicated art practice.

Bruce Hartman, the Director of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, recently wrote about my current ongoing series of paintings and sculptures, Bright Black and Frag: ”I love these works’ inventiveness, color, seeming precariousness, imaginative employment of detritus, whimsy vs. seriousness, etc.”  Created after my successful eye surgery, these paintings and sculptures were inspired by the following cycle of seasons. The flickering glow of autumn led to an eerily lit, very snowy, unusually cold winter, and then an excessively grey wet spring blossomed into a steaming hot shiny summer. Natural light has become a new/old element for me.

In the process of making either 2-D or 3-D work, I always add what makes sense to me and subtract what does not, usually in consideration of the context of formal elements. In the case of the Frag series, the materials I add represent the different parts of my history, dreams, or memories. I want the additions to finish the psychological loop and have aesthetic resonance. As the work got larger, the narrative got more complex and so did the list of materials.

Regarding the Bright Black series, in November of 2016 I walked into my studio feeling gutted. A few days before I had such a connection to the work surrounding me, but now it seemed from another time and mind. Over the months, anger turned to sadness and grief. I started going to rallies, protests and political meetings. That helped me emotionally, but the work still went darker, stickier and fatter. As years passed, I connected more deeply with the dark.