Artist Statement

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My artwork accesses the visceral, often attempting to negotiate and nail down the moving parts. Although much of my work explores the female experience, my action painting investigates emotions as they erupt. In some works with the female figure I simply try to capture the sensual, in others I explore touch and story. In my action painting, simmering emotions behind the facade of a face interest me.

As a dancer and choreographer I spent decades running, leaping, spinning, falling, and recovering. Light is facile and animate on stage as well as on paper. Rhythm is always part of the picture. As a choreographer I negotiated form spontaneously in 3D, defending curiosity as a means in and of itself for art-making. Now, skills I honed as a dance-artist transfer to paper: Rhythm, light, movement, and spontaneous compositional techniques.

I draw on paper, sometimes in old books as in the works on Braille—it’s far more responsive than canvas. My inspiration to draw began with the female body and has now expanded to include movement and nature. Large works, up to 170x 100, on heavy paper are my focus of late.

For the action painting, images are first created by pounding, scraping, and whacking ink-drunk lavender or other plants onto large paper while dancing. Here I explore disquiet and anger, color and the power of water.