My work begins with the search for paper. I scour Thrift shops for interesting papers. The paper often sparks the idea for me. I strive to honour and highlight the quality of the paper.
It usually starts simply with putting something down, without being too precious about it. I know that things are going to change. I can't become attached to a little section. The piece has to work as a whole, sometimes that means putting a piece in jeopard; I have to push it up and over the hill, forcing it to an interesting place. The difficult part is the magic moment when the piece begins to 'sing'. If I am not attentive, I can miss that moment. When I recognize it, I have to step back and put the tools down. My relationship with the piece is finished and it is time to release it to the viewer. If I have had a serious relationship with the piece, it will show.
Staying open to chance, possibility and flow are skills I have been forced to develop over the years. I enjoy the quiet concentration, the play of composition and how disparate images, bits of discarded fragments can create something new and relevant to the times we live in.
An artist is an explorer.- Henri Matisse