My Process

Choosing the materials to incorporate into a piece is inspired by my visual and tactile mood that day. I might choose a bunch of different fabric pieces and mount them on wood panels. Or I might decide to emboss sheets of heavy copper after going to a botanical garden and photographing flowers. Or I might be inspired to play with driftwood after a successful beach hunt.

Usually all those things are happening simultaneously and evolve as I add and take away until I am satisfied with the layout of multiple elements. I normally have several pieces in the works at any given time, as one element in a piece sparks an expansion or new direction in another piece.

While I work dynamically to create both tabletop sculpture and wall mount pieces, my interests always remain in an array of natural and manmade elements that speak to each other. I draw from my collections of driftwood, reclaimed and repurposed wood; from leather, paper, fiber, jute, and textiles; from copper and other metals; from hand blown glass and recycled glass beads; and from botanicals. I’ll reach for high-fired clay works, original photography, iron feet and hooks, rusted birds and wire when the piece asks for it. Bringing various materials together, I rearrange and recombine until the disparate elements become a cohesive whole.

To finish each of my unique mixed media pieces, I hand seal and preserve all copper and metal with museum-grade wax and all painted and transfer areas with a professional furniture wax. I am always both fascinated and surprised with how a piece turns out, and excited by each new day and what it brings me creatively. A naturally curious person, one idea cannot help but lead to the next. I truly love what I do.