Like the Abstract Expressionist who were committed to expressions of profound emotion and universal themes of post-war mood my work explores psychological moments of modern everyday life, thought process, and how we connect & respond to them. The abstract composition allows for freedom of interpretation, and my hope is that it affords the viewer an experience as unique as their personal life story.
A neutral palette allows me to focus on the key parts and overall composition. My work is all about channeling this process and transforming this often negative and exhaustive energy into something beautiful.
I lay the 26 X 34 handmade paper on the table of my studio, constantly moving around it, working from each side and angle until the artwork is complete. Working in this manner allows me the freedom to engage in the piece in its entirety and not from just one perspective. Using layers of ink, paint and other markings, applied with numerous tools, adds to the physicality of my process, and helps me connect with the composition.
Where does the root of this series come from?
Why am I continuously drawn to lines?
I'm channeling, cataloguing, all the memories, inner psyche, thoughts, each line a story, a word, a vast collection of unrelated and related parts to a whole, concepts, thought concerns, coming together as one, the *gestalt. Organizing, bringing back the references, names, repetitive circumstances, and ideas.
My grandpa excelled at this as well. Perhaps his life was spared during WWII for his gift. He oversaw all the numbers (the social security numbers identifying the soldiers) accountable for those here or gone. He saw it, everything, very clearly, one way, his way, usually based on personal experience. His daughter, my mom was also gifted with great memory of facts, *prouded by her Trivia knowledge connecting all her tidbits of knowledge. Daily at 7pm she would claim her "yes" every time she got a Jeopardy question right. She would enjoy reclining sideways on the couch like Manet's Olympia, just not nude (www.manet.org/olympia.jsp):-) I miss her.
I strive to turn negativity and thoughts of imperfection into beauty. Many know me as a beam of light, with all beams there is also darkness. that yin and yang, that pendulum that goes back and forth. I constantly seek to reconnect the what seems opposite or unrelated parts of selfs or ideas.
*Prouded was an endearing term created by Poppy Joe *Thank you Dr. Knopp for your persistence for having me in your class, on your roster, when I clearly tried to not be there repeatedly. Magically 3 years later I was gifted with your class again and this time it was called existentialism where you referenced the gestalt. We learned about many other great concepts including the word gestalt that forever changed my life and became part of my everyday language. You got me, understood me, before I even saw me, in that depth.