STATEMENT OF WORK

I work in sculpture, collage and installation. My work is often fiber based and includes found objects and repurposed materials-  this is a core value.   In our lives we continuously collect and then build upon what was before; culturally and personally.  We recombine what we already have to build the future. Like life, my work is built by layering, combining, reusing what has always been there.
These collage, assemblage and installation pieces, ranging in size from a few inches to larger than room size, all begin with the recombination and alteration of existing elements.  These combinations of images, fabrics, beads, found objects and used papers all are something new created from something familiar- a rearrangement of ordinary things into something that surprises us into seeing anew.
Although we need rules and guidance, wise human behavior cannot be enforced from the outside. It has to be the individual’s choice, a need. Art is one way to awaken this need- giving a glimpse that there is something that is beyond common understanding.  Art shows people that things can be rearranged.  Things can be changed without destroying what is there.  Things can be better, with what we already have.

The world is so full of grief right now, but when things fall apart we rescue, rearrange, repair and go on.  Bandage it, prop it up, tie it back together.  This act of repair gives us a way to carry our grief.  We tie it to our door frames and boat masts. We hang it in our vegetable gardens and workshops. And with it we carry our loved ones, our communities, our histories and our futures. It is sad and beautiful and we recognize it everywhere - when we don’t know who that stranger is we nonetheless recognize that glowing parcel they carry.