In my years as a visual artist I have chosen symbolic forms that are both universal and personal to express the idea of “time.” Often I use nests, eggs, marine creatures, and one-celled organisms. They are symbols for natural phenomenas that manifest this notion of time. I have reinterpreted these forms in states of birth and decay, remnants of our primeval past and our endangered future. My visual vocabulary is derived from many sources, some are apparent, some are obscure. Most are abstractions to allow the viewer to ponder the creatures and events or the possible patterns they embody.
It is a privilege to be close to the natural world. After college I traveled to South America, Italy, Greece, Egypt, and England to study the history of glass, ancient civilizations, and the natural world. Those adventures have informed my work and inspired me to keep a journal with drawings, notes, found objects, and specimens.
After graduate school, I started a small business making glass beads and jewelry. Currently, many of the subjects of my work, both in painting and in glass, reside in Bonaire about ten feet under the Caribbean Sea. I have been a volunteer “reef surveyor” for Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (bonaireturtles.org). During this scientific study I am a “spotter” of sea turtles and a variety of marine creatures. This allows me to gather mental images and ponder the many species of coral that exist in the underwater world, noting both their abundance and condition. It allows me to focus on threatened or endangered species. After seeing a specific sea creature, I do a painting from memory. In this way, I can carefully examine a specimen taking note of its habitat and the environmental challenges it faces. Ultimately, what I study is reinterpreted in glass, jewelry, and now in paintings on paper. The ever-changing seascape and creatures are the subjects, and I marvel at the minute details, textures, and movements. Through my art, I visually capture an iconic creature engage viewers and remind them of our fragile marine environment.
Education
1985 Mt. Royal Graduate School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD M.F.A. in Painting
1982 Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA B.F.A. in Glass
Awards & Honors
2005 Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Grant
2002 Artist in Residence, PA Council for the Arts
2000 Belber Award for Jewelry
1993 Woodmere Museum – Sculpture
1988 Philadelphia Dresses the World – Jewelry
1986 PA Council for the Arts – Visual Arts
Bibliography
Publications
2004 "1000 Glass Beads"
"Beads of Glass"
2000 "Art Glass from Urban Glass"
1998 Ornament Magazine
Glass Magazine
Exhibitions
Solo
2004 Drifters and Wanderers, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA
Group
2018 National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2016 Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2014 Gravers Lane Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2012 Glass Invitational 2012, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts, Millville, NJ
2009 Reflections in Glass, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2008 It's All About the Beads, Pismo Glass Gallery, Denver, CO
2001 Materials: Hard and Soft, Denton Museum, Denton, TX
2000 Focus on Glass: The Challenge, Gallery East, Loveland, CO
Beadwork in America 2000, Haydon Gallery, Haydon, NE
1999 Contemporary Beads from America, Ebeltoft Glasmuseum, Denmark
