Artist Statement:
Through my gestural paintings I aim to capture those overlooked modest moments of beauty, revealed unexpectedly perhaps in the imperfect and the fleeting, but that nevertheless illuminate our humanity and our longing to connect with each other. I record the feeling and emotion of that moment of discovering beauty in the inconsequential.
I admire people who are wordsmiths. Words rarely come easily for me, one thought splits into another and then another, as I search my mind for the right words. Each large blank canvas allows me to expressively explore the vocabulary of color and marks as a way to record, without literal references, the thoughts, impressions, and memories of a singular day or place in time. Poetry in motion is what I strive to achieve with each painting. I begin with spontaneous layers of graphite, charcoal, or ink, but after those first few freeing marks that break the surface of the canvas and give direction to the painting, each stroke and line is thought through and intentional.
Through the use of bold brushstrokes and no distinguishable objects, each painting invites viewers to enter it with inquiring observation. The abstract imagery allows for a contemplative journey of interactive reflection and exploration of the layers of the visual language of colors and marks. It is a respite perhaps from the exigencies of life and a path to finding value, joy, and contentment in what may at first seem inconsequential, but is in fact essential to the human experience.
Professional/Teaching Experience:
Board of Directors, Arts Network Ottawa 2013-2019
Ottawa 2017 Arts, Culture, and Heritage Investment Program Steering Committee
Set work for Tara Luz Danse 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024
Instructor by invitation Fibre Art Australia, April 2015, July 2013
Instructor by invitation Fibre Arts New Zealand, April 2015
Lead Artist Community Art Project, Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario October 2013-June 2014
General Program Instructor, Ottawa School of Art
Jury member - Ottawa Council for the Arts grants
Jury member - Ottawa City galleries exhibition selection process
Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibits
2022 - Visible Mending - The Loft Gallery, Perth, Ontario
2022 - Visible Mending - Marianne Silfhout Gallery, Brockville, Ontario
2022 - Visible Mending - Preston Square Exhibition Space, Ottawa, Ontario
2020 - Beauty in the Inconsequential - The Loft Gallery, Perth, Ontario
2020 - Beauty in the Inconsequential - Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
2016 - Vanishing Point: New Work - LaLande + Doyle Exhibition Space, Ottawa, Ontario
2015 - A State of Transparency - LaFab Galerie d’art, Chelsea, Quebec
2012 - A State of Transparency - Trinity Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2011 - Featured Artist - Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury, Vermont
2010 - VivaCity - Snapdragon Gallery, Ottawa, Ontar
2008 - City of Dreams - Gloucester Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2008 - Blink Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2007 - Nocturne - Centrepointe Theatre Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 - Portraits of Resilience, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
2020-21 - Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Art à la Carte Program
2019 - Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
2019, 2018, 2016 - Sunderland Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska
2017 - Biennale Internationale du Lin de Portnuef, Deschambault, Quebec
2017 - EDGE - Alice B. Sabatini Gallery, Topeka, Kansas USA
2016 - Edges - Stone School Gallery, Portage du Fort, Quebec
2016 - EDGE 6.0 - Sunderland Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska
2015 - International Textile Exhibition - Beijing, China
2014 - World of Threads Festival - Toronto, Ontario
2014 - Mindful Landscapes - Sunderland Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska
2012 - Billboard Project - Atlanta, Georgia
2012 - Art Takes Time Square - New York, New York
2011 - Art Prize 2011 - 106 Gallery, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2011-2013 - Studio Art Quilt Associates traveling show - Africa, Europe, & Australia
2011 - Single Fare: Please Swipe Again - Sloan Fine Art, New York, New York
2011 - Volusia Wrapped in Fiber - Gateway Center for the Arts, Florida
2010 - Urbane: Portrait of a City - Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2010 - Agnes Jamieson Gallery - Minden, Ontario
2010 - US Embassy Spring Invitational - Ottawa, Ontario
2009 - Colourata - AOE Art Council Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, by invitation
2008 - Unclothed And Uncovered - Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario
2008 - I-4 Corridor: Stretching Threads Across Florida - Peabody Gallery, Daytona Beach, Florida
2008 - Unclothed And Uncovered - Ontario Crafts Council Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2007 - Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles, Montreal, Quebec
2007 - Rebooted: Life After E-Junk - John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
2006 - Surface Tension - James Howe Gallery, Kean University, New Jersey
2004 - Expressions - Sheraton Hotel, Nashua, New Hampshire
