After university I returned for a few years to Racine where I was a ceramics instructor at Wustum Museum before I moved to Chicago. There I switched to painting, exhibiting at various galleries in the Midwest. In 2006, I moved to Rhode Island where I continued to paint while expanding my work to include sculpture and metal work. In 2010, I was an Adjunct Instructor working with Professor Julia Strandberg, Brown University, in the production of Childish Things, combining dance, sculpture and painting. Today, I continue my work at my studio in Pawtucket, RI.
ARTIST STATEMENT
February 8, 2025
I believe that the more energy I put into a work, the more energy goes out to the viewer. This is work that I love, and it brings me a satisfaction and calm that would otherwise be elusive. In this way my making art is an evolution of myself, and I use a range of techniques that I have developed on my own, always looking for a fresh twist in the creation of my art---a new idea that shapes what I see, and what I have seen. The processes and the products of my making absorb abundant energy that allows me to share my intensity with others--the viewers.
The sum of this effort is my own form of narrative abstract expressionism, each work with its own story and reason for existence. The bold colors I use, and the unusual techniques vary greatly. Sometimes I first paint loose canvas on the floor, and then later shoot it with a twelve-gauge shotgun. This invests the canvas with a random form of energy--like a palette of emotions-- which can then be cut into small and large pieces for mosaics or collage. At other times I add staples and other mixed media, or I bend wood to make an undulating substrate. Sometimes I just paint on a stretched canvas.
This odyssey of styles and techniques is a way for me to broaden my experience and share with others, but most of all, it’s simply what I have wanted to do for many years, and I see no lessening in this the drive to create.
