Artist Statement

Emotional histories of my life guide my work. As a child, transforming the volatile chaos of home into worlds I could control saved me and was my genesis as a maker. I would escape to the nearby beach on Lake Erie, where I’d construct protective fantasy worlds of sanctuary with the wondrous debris that washed upon the shore.

For years I believed my art embodied the tension between restraint, power and the control I was convinced I had. I now realize those ideas distill down to the universal experience of loss and human vulnerability. My losses shape who I am and the work I create.

Textiles are my fundamental language. Whether using hand made paper, wet felted wool or hand stitching a wide array of fabrics, the forms I create are often body+emotional stand-ins of me and represent significant events from my life. Themes include unspoken subjects such as grief, mental illness and child sexual abuse. 

A degree in theater design and lengthy career as a scenic artist influences my work and provides a solid foundation for experimentation and exploration. I learned to be extremely flexible utilizing a broad range of materials and processes. Trained in the illusion of theater, the sense of tension, suspension and wonder are constantly at play in my work.

As I work through the palpable tension around loss, the physical act of making renders it bearable. Wrangling stitches to control what is going on beneath the surface creates a tension between me and the work. The tactile, rigorous and meditative physicality of art making helps me meaningfully discharge these emotions through my hands.