statement
I make art from the collision of disparate, even opposing elements: knitting, weaving, stitchery, several felting techniques, printing original photos on silk, doll making, 3d collage, wood and metal construction– all in combination with original poetry, fiction and micro-fiction. I use quite a lot of “repurposed” material, which sounds nicer than “trash.”
For nearly 40 years I was primarily a mother and homemaker and I deeply loved that life. After my youngest child went to college, I began to experiment with using my accumulated craft skills to speak in my own art-voice . Although I was raised in the Midwest and taught to be polite, I soon discovered that dark, angry and sad voices are ok to use– even for women– even for OLD women .
My recent work reflects both the wonder and the terror of leaving my former life and moving to rural New England in 2013. I am working on many new storytelling projects that will express the beauty and joy I have found here: from 3 dimensional pieces that have a written element to books of hybrid fiction that incorporate visual components. I do not, however, intend to abandon dark surrealism for banal prettiness.
Although largely self-taught, I have a few semesters of college-level training in fine art (Stephens College and the University of Missouri) . I have also learned from some wonderful craftpersons. I work in an intuitive manner, unwilling to give up either the narrative or sculptural elements of my work . I put a great deal of time into each piece, striving for a multileveled dialogue between the surreal and the mundane.
Roger Cardinal describes outsider artists as having “profound strangeness and integrity”– that’s my aspiration. I will keep smashing the rocks of many art and craft forms together, hoping to strike sparks.
shows
- July 2009, “Demented Little Rabbits”, DUO SHOW with Fran Lakatos, at Cranky Yellow, St. Louis, MO
- August 2009, “Sew What”, Flax Gallery at Art Dimensions, St. Louis, MO
- October 2009, “Halloween Art Show and Party”, Koken Art Factory, St. Louis, MO
- October 2009, “Damned II”, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- November 2009, “Danse Macabre III” in London and Nottingham, England
- January 2010, “Sense of Self”, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
- February 2010, “Tall Stories”, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
- March 2010, “Inspired Art Project”, St. Louis, MO
- April 2010, “A Book About Death”, MOMA, Machynlleth, Wales
- June 2010, “The Visual Word”, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO Summer 2010, “Generation of Genocide” (movie), wearable pieces and other pieces being used
- August 2010, “Crusty Old Punks” at Catacombs/Artlandish Gallery, Columbia, MO
- October 2010, “Damned III”, Detrioit, MI, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- October 2010, “A Book About Death”, Belknap Mill, Laconia, NH
- December 2010, “Bedtime Stories”, Berlin Theater, Columbia, MO
- January 2011, “Hybrid Identity”, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
- March-May 2011, SOLO SHOW at Ashby-Hodge Gallery, Central Methodist University, Fayette, MO. Piece was purchased by the gallery.
- October 2011, “Damned IV”, Detroit, MI, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- January 2012, “The Seven Deadly Sins”, Columbia Art League (“Baba Yaga” juried 1st place). Columbia, MO)
- January 2012, show of acquisitions by the gallery, Ashby-Hodge Gallery, Central Methodist University, Fayette, MO.
- June 2012, “Poisoned Apples”, Funhouse Gallery, Detroit, MI
- October 2012, “Damned V”, Detroit, MI, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- October 2013, “Damned VI”, Detroit, MI, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- October 2013 and -October 2014, “Local Color”, Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT
- December 2013 and December 2014, “Small Works”, Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT
- October 2014, “Damned VII”, Detroit, MI, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- April and July 2014, juried shows at Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT
- February 2015, “The Cheesy Show”, 42 Maple Gallery, Bethlehem, NH
- April 2015, SOLO SHOW, “Real Swell Stories”, 42 Maple Gallery, Bethlehem, NH
- May-September 2015, group shows at 42 Maple Gallery, Bethlehem, NH
- October 2015, SOLO SHOW, “The Beautiful Light of Burning Bridges”, Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT
- October 2015, “Damned VIII”, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- November 2016, “Cadavre Exquis”, DUO SHOW with Trissa Tilson, 42 Maple Gallery, Bethlehem, NH
- October 2017, “Local Colors” show at Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT
- May 2018, SOLO SHOW, “Exploding Brain: Post-Stroke Artwork”, Neurology Conference, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
- October 2019, “Local Colors” show at Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT
- October 2019, “Damned XII”, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- February 2020, Entartete Kunst 2020, 42 Maple Arts, Bethlehem, NH
- October 2020, “Damned– virtual”, international juried show, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
- March 2022, “Mud Season” show at Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT
- April 2022, “Poemtown”, SOLO SHOW, Bradford Library, Bradford, VT
- February 2023, “2 Sentence Stories” show, Blake Library, Corinth, VT
- May 2023, “I Dream the Ghosts of Houses”, MULTIMEDIA SOLO SHOW, Junction Arts and Media, White River Junction, VT
- June 2023, “The Cow Show”, Main Street Museum, White River Junction, VT
- June 2023, “Unbound” (Bookstock event), Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, VT