Artist Statement
I have been working in mixed media collage for many years. It is a challenge to bring together different mediums into a dramatic interplay between object and symbol. It is also the combination of the various techniques that provide spice and give spontaneity to the process.
Before the objects become part of the image, the surface tells a storey handwritten in pen and pencil. These words are removed and reworked in the process of painting with oil pastels and acrylic medium. Many of the words remain, leaving the mystery of the text.
Along with the narrative, women and animals are the most common subjects in my work. The female figures are symbolized whimsically in interesting and fantastical scenes as protectors, nurturers and instinctual beings accompanied by birds, cats and dogs. The animals act as companions symbolizing spiritual vitality and guidance creatures.
The hunt for the various objects in each mixed media collage is another rewarding challenge. I combine old photographs, photo copies and digital images, stamps, words torn from various articles, printed papers, bones, lace and other materials.
The finished image may bear only the slightest of resemblance to the original image, due to the intervention of the process. This prevents the images from becoming stifled and trapped within a too specific medium. There is also the intervention of chance and random error in every process. These unforeseeable circumstances can reveal new opportunities to reassess the individual image or the entire concept.