| I paint spaces that people inhabit. Inspired by both the human body and cities, my work projects emotional terrain onto the constructed world. I use the thick physicality of encaustic paint to explore an experience of inner and external place. Everyday structures such as lists, grids, blueprints and calendars appear as frameworks we create to organize the more fluid nature of inner experience. Actual fragments of those objects are often embedded in my work, along with patterns found in woven and stitched textiles that echo these visual constructs. By evoking the tactile qualities of textiles, my paintings' surfaces suggest human touch. I see the translucent and receptive properties of wax paint as skin that is marked by time and its environment. The processes of growth and decay are mirrored in the build up of paint and the subtractive scraping techniques I use. Layering and repetition, characteristic qualities of fiber arts, are elements I use to imply the rhythms of breath, time, sound and the look of urban spaces. Underneath the layers, the wax glows with a lightness that belies the weight of physical existence. | |
