Artist Statement
As an artist, I am perpetually in awe of our natural surroundings. This sensitivity has translated into my work in various forms. Working in painting, sculpture, photography, print-making, and mixed media has brought me joy, challenges, and fulfillment.
Out of a fascination in how human-made objects have been altered by time and weather, I use torn tires that I find on the side of the road as objects for sculptures and textures for printing on 2d surfaces. This process is part of my larger experiment of creating an organic quality to something understood as manufactured, wasteful, or discarded. By thinking of these tires as gestures and marks in my paintings, or as moving strokes upon a canvas, I relate to their function as dynamic objects upon a plane. This becomes an experiment in combining the textural effects of printing with tires, painting with water media, sponging with natural walnut dye, and incorporating the use of tar and sometimes photos of roads and cars. The totality of my work reflects my interpretation of both the natural and human-made world, a sense of time and past production, of unrestrained potentiality.
My teaching career spanned nearly forty years in the Art Departments within Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) and surrounding areas, as well teaching classes through Northwestern Michigan College.
Current Galleries
Bella Galleria, Old Mission Peninsula, Traverse City, MI
Traverse City Art and Design Studio and Gallery, Traverse City, MI
Cedar Creek Interiors, Traverse City, MI
Oliver Art Center Gallery Shop, Frankfort, MI.
Education
Post Graduate Studies, Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan University
Master of Arts degree in Fine Art (photography emphasis), Central Michigan University, 1999
Bachelor of Arts degree “with honor”, Michigan State University, 1971
Provisional Teaching Certificate, 1971, Renewal, 1977
Professional Education Certificate, 1995, Renewal, 2005
Publications
Art of the Sleeping Bear, contribution, hardcover book published by Leelanau Press, 2013
Watershed of Grand Traverse Bay 2012 Calendar
Brothers, Sisters and Babies, An Informational Coloring Book, published by Munson Medical Center, 1987
Awards, Shows, Exhibits
2013 - 2015, ISEA & NWS International Art Exchange Juried Exhibition , with the Welch Group of Wales, UK, 2013-2015
2013 Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Fine Art Juried Publication and Exhibition, Dennos Museum, Traverse City, MI
2013 Surfaces, One person Photography Show, Traverse City Art and Design Studio, Traverse City, MI, 2013
2013 Greater Michigan Juried Art Exhibition, Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI, 2013
2013 Crooked Tree 32nd Annual Juried Photography Show, Crooked Tree Art Center, Petoskey, MI, 2013 (Honorable Mention) 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2003 (Honorable Mention), 2002, 2001
2013 Crooked Tree 32nd Annual Juried Fine Arts Exhibition, Crooked Tree Art Center, Petoskey, MI, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2004 (Honorable Mention), 2003, 2002
2012 ISEA (Nautilus Fellow) International Society of Experimental Artists Juried Exhibition, Gloucester, MA, 2011 Shelton, WA, 2007 Santa Cruz, CA, 2006 Marquette, MI, 2005 Fort Worth, TX, (Merit Award), 2004 Fort Meyers, FL, 2003 Chicago, IL, 2002 Muncie, IN (Honorable Mention), 2001 Traverse City, MI
2011 Michigan Water Color Society 64th Annual Juried Exhibition, Birmingham Bloomfield hills Art Center, Birmingham, MI
(A complete list is available in the downloadable resume in pdf format below.)
Collections
Private and corporate collections in New York, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and California
Memberships
ISEA International Society of Experimental Artists (Nautilus Fellow)
Michigan Water Color Society
Crooked Tree Arts Center,
Petoskey, MI
Dennos Museum Center Traverse City, MI
Art Center Traverse City, Traverse City, MI
Midland Center For The Arts, Midland, MI
Oliver Art Center, Frankfort, MI
Glen Arbor Art Association, Glen Arbor, MI
Michigan Legacy Art Park, Crystal Mountain, Thomsonville, MI
(download Resume pdf here)