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Artist Statement

I find comfort in chaos.  My studio, filled with an excessive assortment of oddities, is where I am most comfortable.  It is my world-within-a-world; where patterned rugs lay overlapping on the floor, costumed mannequins observe from the corner, brocade fabrics hang from my easel, plastic-encased bugs refract light in the window and magazine clippings overlap on striped walls.  The juxtaposition of objects and images helps me create new narratives or conjure the memories and dreams that inspire my paintings.  The images capture this juxtaposition by appearing simultaneously vintage, yet modern, and beautiful, yet disturbing.   I focus on themes of obsession, contrast, containment and control.

Recently, I have been covering the objects in my paintings with obsessive patterning.   I take the patterned elements, then combine, contrast and overlap them to create the visual illusion of a space that is simultaneously voluminous and flat, in order to push the boundaries between structure and chaos.  The patterns are inspired by Arabesque design, Art Nouveau decorative elements and free-form graffiti. 

In the terrarium series, the children live in a world-within-a-world, where they interact with the world around them, but they are separated by positive or negative environments.  The juxtaposition of the interior and exterior environments act as a starting point for addressing child welfare and environmental issues, while allowing me to experiment on how patterns interact in a space.  The terrariums also reference Japanese Zen gardens and the suburbs where I live, because they are both forms of controlled and contained nature.  The terrariums also become portable mini-studios that allow me to bring the comfort of my studio wherever I venture.