FOSSIL FUEL. 
Colored ink on paper.  Dimensions: 28" h x 17" w .

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am accomplished in a variety of media including drawing, painting, printmaking and ceramic art. A native of Ohio, I attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. I began my art career as a stained-glass artist in New Jersey. I continued to paint and draw, showing my work in juried exhibitions. Subjects include portraiture, landscapes as well as a unique detailed sgraffito technique on porcelain vessels. Much of work centers on images gained from several cross country road trips, originally funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

I exhibit painting and drawing as well as ceramic art in regional, national, and international juried exhibitions.

Although my work has been showcased in numerous exhibitions in which I have won several awards, I am also proud of my accomplishments as a teacher. Sharing my talents with high school students has added vibrancy and energy to my work, as the teacher and students learn from each other.

The Craft Store and Gallery at Peter’s Valley in Layton, New Jersey currently represents my work.

STATEMENT ON THE PIECE, FOSSIL FUEL.

Fossil Fuel is one of a series of drawings, paintings and cream art based upon photographic reference and onsite sketches and studies made during several slow and deliberate cross- country trips. My first trip was funded through a Visual Artist Grant given by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation facilitating my interest and documentation of remnants of hand built structures and a rapidly changing rural cultural icons.

Throughout all the media I work in, you will see and emphasis in drawing skills. I use contour line and crosshatching technique to build form and often to create depth of color. This particular drawing illustrated all of these techniques. Many layers of different colors are laid one upon the other to blend into a local color and texture.

I am interested in structures built by hand such as homes, barns, and entire communities. I am also fascinated with objects that we collect, keep and display to remind us of days gone by. This image was drawn from images I gathered at an old automobile garage in Wyoming. The outside of this garage was piled high with old gas pumps, windmills, wagons and other farm equipment. Farms often had their own gas pumps and tanks. This one reminded me of a pump my grandmother had on her farm.