Artist Statement
My art practice incorporates work in three separate media; abstract paintings, pen and ink drawings, and sculptural installations made from heated acrylic sheets.  The body of work is conceptually linked by my interest in an array of dichotomous relationships—simple and complex, beautiful and grotesque, micro and macro perspectives, and natural and manmade environments.  This interest in opposing forces correlates to my process:  Working ambidextrously, I engage both hands in my work in an attempt to unify the obsessive and intentional marks made by my right hand with the open and lyrical tendencies of my left.  

My work in these discrete media is grounded both in necessity, and in my desire to explore the unique properties of the materials.  In my paintings, I manipulate solvents with oils to mimic occurrences in the natural world. This process is time-intensive; the painting’s multiple layers become an intricate surface that can take over two years to dry.  Drawing and sculpture engage other modes of thinking and allow me to work while my paintings cure.  My drawings incorporate meditative repetitions of line and organic forms, and the immediacy of the materials enables me to experiment with scale, pattern, and speed of execution.  The sculptural installations let me draw in three dimensions, using folds and contortions that suggest both the natural and manmade world.

Creating and altering line is the foundation to my art practice. The bend in the acrylic installation, the mark in the pen and ink drawing, and the brushstroke made in oil paint create illusions of topographical surfaces.  Some elements are forced, incorporated, or blended, while others are skewed, twisted, or implied.  I seek a visceral process, and am inspired by the progression from disorientation to clarity.