The
Artist

Creative Process and Intent

   My art is spontaneous; individual pieces are not preplanned in great detail. I start with an idea or a concept that takes on a life of its own as it unfolds during the creative process. Trusting in the unkown is key. I like to challenge social constructs. My work attempts to abstract essences of life and convey the obtainability of higher states of being. I see art as a vehicle for recognizing the deeper aspects of our true selves.  

   I use a wide variety of materials in my work ranging from found objects to metal, wood, paper, and canvas. I love using house paint, oil stick, chalk, pastels, tubes of acrylic and oil paint, pencil, pen, and markers. I collect bits of paper from every place imaginable and find a wealth of material in newsprint. I am a painter who also likes to design and build visual worlds. I find collage particularly appealing. I also like to find interesting this's and that's for my assemblages. Junkyard probings and dumpster divings are closely tied to my work in more ways than one. I like to construct my work on found surfaces, and have lately taken to building or finding miniature stages for my pieces. I favor textured surfaces, and apply paint liberally with large brushes, rollers, and rags. My work ranges from the figurative to the abstract, or a combination thereof. It is often monumentally architectural in scale. 

Bio Notes

Born on June 27, 1953 in Evanston, Illinois. 

The great-granddaughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin and sister of artists. 

A kindergarten teacher announced my artistic ability. My brother John and I painted a radiator with crayons, much to our parents' horror. 

After this, I turned to analytical and intellectual pursuits.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees with highest honors from the University of Kansas. Studies focused on philosophy; religion; cultural, intellectual, and art history.

Elected to Phi Beta Kappa and chosen as a Governor's Fellow for the State of Kansas. 

Law-school dropout.

Served four Governors of Kansas in high-level administrative and policy positions.

Studied studio art with prominent Kansas artists which led to exhibiting and selling my work.

Studied fine art and studio art at the Parsons School of Design in Paris, France.

After living and working in the San Francisco area for the last five years, I am now in the process of relocating to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I have recently completed my first book that is to be published in 2002 by John Daniels Publishers, Inc. of Santa Barbara, California. I am currently working on my first one woman show to be held at the new Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas in 2003.

87 works are in private collections.