I have a memory from when I was four years old: I am sitting on the play structure in my backyard, looking up through the trees and thinking to myself, “Who am I?” and suddenly I recognize that I am a part of a greater life force that is living in my body. Right around that age I was also introduced to art, yoga and the Beatles. My favorite Beatles lyric, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together,” reflects my obsession with this “life force”— the thing that connects and brings us all together.
Born into a world-traveling family of artists, performers, and activists, I grew up with community, creativity, nature, and adventure––ingredients that shape my artistic signature. I use a saturated and abstract visual language to reference recurring signs in nature, embodying the interconnected design of all things. I incorporate into my paintings organic patterns and textures, from moss growing on rocks to aerial views of mountain ranges and river beds. I look for repeated patterns, from the microcosmic to macrocosmic, in DNA, heart rates, neural pathways, wood grain, mycelial networks, tree branches, coast lines, lightning bolts, clouds, continent formations, and galaxies. I follow the timeless tradition of articulating “life force,” as in artistic disciplines and movements throughout history. For example Romanticism’s focus on the sublime, Shamanic trance art, Buddhist Mandalas, Theosophist painting, mystic abstraction, and depictions of myths and deities. My artistic practice is uninhibited, playful, and intuitive. In my paintings and multi-media work I employ a universal language of bright colors and patterns, reflecting a connecting thread through different cultures and artistic movements. Using a variety of materials, I explore the intersection of painting, textiles, and installation. I build on the surface of my paintings to implement tactile 3D elements. I strive to express what I find to be spirited, kaleidoscopic, and celebratory to transport the viewer from a two-dimensional plane into an elevated visual experience that is joyous, hopeful, and life-affirming. |