Artist Statement

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Although Paulownia trees grow around Philadelphia’s Logan Circle and in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, they are more often found in empty lots, along the railroad tracks, growing through sidewalk cracks and even out of old brick buildings.

I use these leaves, their wood and other natural invasive materials as templates for paper sculpture. The long strong fibers of the washi paper I use are supple enough to capture the subtlety of these ephemeral forms and strong enough to transform them into lightweight durable work.

The cleaning, bleaching and natural air drying of these leaves is a lengthy process, as is the multiple layering of the washi paper. The original template of leaf, gourd or reed gives way to a formal interpretation using color, shape and line. I developed this  process over time, through experimentation and studies of sculpture, painting and papermaking. My choice of material stems from the belief that art should speak to the issues of our time. The materials I collect are harbingers of the changing environment.

Displayed individually, in groups, on the wall and in the air as mobiles, my work is referential. A hollow round leaf atop a long stem is an African mask, several leaves undulating together reference a landscape and in a frame, a stemless leaf is a Chinese scholar stone.

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Residencies

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2003
Residency Exhibit, Delaware Center for Horticulture, Wilmington, DE

Exhibitions

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Group

2024
(re)FOCUS, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

2023
The Calm before the Storm, CFEVA, Philadelphia, PA

Group Show, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2021
Subjective Perspective, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

2020
Craft, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

2019
Crafting Narratives, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

2017
The Phragmites Institute of Material Culture (self produced)

2012
Art Exhibit, Gloucester County College, Sewell, NJ

2001
Artwork Loan, EPA offices, Washington D.C

1997
The Vessel, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

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Solo

2000
Phragmites Bound, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

Beaux Arts Ball, Foundation for Architecture, first prize for sculpture

1998
Native, Invasive, Alien, Delaware Center for Horticulture, Wilmington, DE

1996
Love’s Body, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA