Why, when asked about past lives, do some people in our culture say they were Civil War soldiers, or other valiants? Why was no one a snail, rabbit, or a blade of grass? Our human centric lives and thoughts have gotten us to a place where we are using up our environment faster than it can be replaced. As an artist who currently immerses herself in forested places, I've found a renewed life force in the woods - new energies that have sustained me through these troubled COVID times. I am seeing the waters, soil, and air as important as humankind.

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Parallel to my inspiration from our natural world is an obsession with our human collective consciousness. Looking for patterns in discourse, I've found the word "ghost" has surfaced recently and I wonder why? Does the contemporary ghost represent a yearning for understanding death? Is the ghost our human way of extending life?

 

I've recently combined my foci of nature and the concept of ghosts into one series of art. While I clearly see the pathway to my current art focus, I realize that all has not been revealed, I embrace the journey.

 

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As a child I wandered in the woods near my home. Every day was a new exploration. Discovering crayfish hiding under rocks in the creek beds, new frog eggs floating on the surfaces of ponds, and flowers popping up and receding on the forest floors - these beings helped to raise me. Later in life, my jobs, and the invention of computers kept me sitting inside. Over the last decades, I've made a conscious effort to re-connect with the woods - the wild.

 

While I have always been drawn to trees and landscape as a source for my artwork, I had an experience which caused a huge shift in my perception. A National Sacred Places Prayer Day, was held on the U.S. Capitol Grounds to honor sacred places and those who protect them. On June 19, 2015, The Morning Star Institute, a national Native rights organization, held a respectful observance to honor sacred places, sacred beings, to protect them from harm. On that day, I joined the group to experience native humans praying, not for people or themselves, but the land. I heard prayers for the Potomac River, the grasses, plants, rocks, trees, and animals. Up until this prayer experience, I had only thought of prayer as asking for help for people and their specific problems.

 

We are living in times when we need to open our hearts to help save the planet.

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I pray that through my creative efforts people may have a change of heart about their environment.

 

My creative process begins with a walk in the forests close to my home in western Maryland. I take in beauty and energy from my surroundings. The artwork (no matter what media used) begins with walking in and observing the landscape, then taking photos. If photos are included in the final work, they are transformed through the vectorizing of pixels into lines and shapes representing the living energy of trees, plants, water and rocks. Layers of lines and color are overlaid using digital collage to create a complex texture. If I am painting with inks, images are created by overlaid layers. Sometimes wet on wet, and other times, allowing the layers to dry first before the application of the next layer. Additional energy marks are made with pens and a liner brush.

 

I research all of the flora and fauna used in my work. It is helpful to know about the nutrients, seasons, transitions, and propagation of each being. I'm currently enrolled in a Dendrology class in order to learn even more about the science of trees and woody plants.

 

Although there is a scientific side of my exploration, I'm pushing beyond the natural scene to explore the energy and spirit of each being. The ghost, spirit, or life force is represented by lines - rippling, dark and light, death giving way to life. My work is a plant based theology. a prayer for people to understand the interconnectedness and complexity of life in all beings.

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Look for updates on work, finished books here and on social media. 

Exhibitions will be in fall of 2023.