the latest

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whew! this one is a lot, a lot....it's beautiful but it's whole-heart-heavy first and foremost. but then, as all the most impactful steep processes go, it feels inspired, hopeful and connected...then came the healing, more and more each day (every fly by), by the 'there's no such thing as the real end'.

it's loss so jarring, so deep and so tragic, loss at it's devastating worst. it's the brightest of joy in a love-life glittered with all the best memories through all of the shared wonder years. it's love strings so strong they bust and break and then go on to mend in knots, on and on and on, stronger by every strand.  it's roots so deep they permeate and secure all that is this life and all that comes after.

it's support for confusion, illness, sadness, trauma, then comfort, growth and perseverance. it's an "all in" celebration of life, love, humor, tenacity, and unwavering loyalty. it's appreciating, collecting and cherishing every.single.thing we hold dear and the vision - so clear, no moments, signs or connection is missed. 

mostly, though, at it's hard fought happy, even when it's sad, ending...it's validation and "the knowing" that no matter how it all went, what the world and it's convictions will have you believe and what your own confused and broken heart tries to tell you on the darkest of all days, the promise and the truth is real.....yes, "they're so far but yet so near."

a tribute to one life i carry in my love heart forever. inspired by experience, love, and the influence of two masters of their own craft. thank you, jimmy buffet for being the perfect soundtrack for this party life and yann martel for speaking to the hard end like i never could. cheers to the mash up that is this, with love, my muse, jimmy's song and yann's poetry together in process and story.

in gratitude for all that was and will forever be, forever and ever. amen.

"even when god seemed to have abandoned me, he was watching. even when he seemed indifferent to my suffering, he was watching. and when i was beyond all hope of saving, he gave me rest. then he gave me a sign to continue my journey" yann martel

43"x25"

oil,  acrylic, gold floss, beads, cotton blend, tulle with sequence

on a hand stretched canvas

inspired by jimmy buffet one particular harbor/yann martel life of pi

ARTPRIZE #80766

this one is interesting in so-many-ways. nothing i do ever fits very neatly in a box. no surprise there. i typically come spilling out everywhere, i’m proud for that. but this one not only can’t be boxed into a series, it’s got a big toe in two! a bridge between my “life songs” and “for the love of literature” series’ “the ones who circle round” is so perfectly both. with a level of depth in meaning, celebration and materials that surprises even me it was so much a hard fought love-love experience. technically, this piece was a bigger challenge than i have faced in a while. it was a lofty goal and i nailed it! rarely do things shake out as i expect them to at the sweet and naive beginning but this love story is one hundred percent true to it’s muse inspired origins. a brilliant combination of celebration for the book “the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse”, the song “we shall be known” by mamuse and my dearest ones. it is layered in the kind of challenge, lesson, success and validation made possible only by the closest and strongest relationships. it’s a love letter to my village, far and near, near and far…it’s one and the same. i carry and honor them in my heart, always, and this is the promise that we are forever in this together. “we shall be known by the company we keep by the ones who circle round to tend these fires.”

30"x40"

oil, acrylic, ink, paper, beads, floss and wood

on a manufacturer stretched canvas

inspired by charlie mackesy the boy the mole the fox and the horse/ mamuse we shall be known

part of the series for the love of literature in flight i stand is an autobiography. it has been brewing for many long years and has come to be in it’s most perfect timing…as all things given space to grow into themselves do. there are over two decades of strong development represented here and too many personal layers to count. at the core, it is all about the greatness of good, versus, not-so-good and the freedom and will it took to find it. in flight i stand is a tribute to the mountain climb that, in the end, gave me to myself. it celebrates the permission and the confidence that finds one in self love and the hard fought battle it took to get there. 

in technical focus, it is so perfectly and predictably me, pushing oil on a (hand stretched and prepped) 2x4 canvas. the flowers, made from recycled copper-coated scrap metal and wire, a nod with great respect and significance, to hard life long lived. the stems are cuts of jute, faux leather strap and strand. 

the butterfly papers are actual page/s from one of my favorite novels “the stand” written by stephen king. each butterfly is made from a specific page, a page that highlights a favorite quote. each page/butterfly was stained with watercolor and ripped to size. the choice to use origami to create the butterflies was inspired by a friend, origami artist bea, and were a deliberate confrontation as they represent a historic challenge of their own. gratefully, in this happy ending, they are also a beautiful success. they alone were a demonstration of how far i’ve come, a testimonial to considerable growth within a venerable working space. 

as my working process always goes, in flight i stand, was beautifully healing and a wonderful act of acceptance and celebration. it is rich in material, depth and texture in both lovely and hard emotional content and the physical material processes. it is strong but soft and firm but forgiving. it is every bit as full of grace in a spirited story as it is in it's visual softness. 

art is an emotional experience for me, to say the least. this piece, in particular, demonstrates and speaks of the many layers of experience and reflection, the many stages and steps that found me safely in a good place. an epic journey pretty much sums it up….well that, and a “happily ever after”. i hope it is every bit as good to you as it has been to me.  

24"x24"

oil, paper, watercolor, faux leather, jute and recycled metal

on a 2x4 hand stretched canvas

inspired by steven kings the stand

from a new series titled love strings, "better than ever" is everything it promises. the energy is sweet but oh so strong. there are layers upon layers to the art and story, as all the best and hardest honesty goes. the guitar string butterfly, celebrating her long evolution, has finally made her way to a self-confident, hard fought freedom of flight....finally in full acceptance that still, there is no clear picture of what comes next.

a great love for long roads and callused fingers calls to me to only use tired and worn song strings for this series because that hard played and experience charged energy makes for a beautiful evolution and generous exchange. something always turns into something that always turns into something else.... especially, when the vision is right. this whole series is a celebration of that glorious and never ending up-cycle. 

this piece celebrates the colorful conversations that wonder "where have you been"? as much as the validation in the statement "we're so glad you're here"! and the equally frightening and rewarding pry into "so what's next"? all at the same party, sometimes all in the same breath. it's a love of life at every stage, not just the few media worthy moments the world wants to acknowledge.

better than ever is a commitment to the long haul, the non-abridged version of you and all it took to grow you. giant leaps and baby steps, better than ever is every single move forward and back. it's an expectation of the life long responsibility to ourselves to stop and smell each flower... because they all matter. it says "i want to get to know you. all the parts of you because you are interesting and valuable, well worth the effort". above anything else it sees the adorable and contagious hope in the beginning, middle and straight through to the never-ever-ends! 

better than ever

series love strings

12x24"

acrylic & guitar strings 

manufacturer gallery stretched canvas

the strongest of all love bonds and songs, literally, wrapped up in one simple and elegant expression. this is my heart sort of the very real challenge between the illusion of control and the need for balance. an internal struggle, which has found me in my most important and very best of all life rolls, parenthood. the conflict between protection and debilitating support, the ever growing showdown between connectedness and independence. walking the fine line with the beauty of best intentions.

"your harbor" found that sweet spot, the balance in the hope on the horizon and the fear of the storm. it is the gratitude in knowing that both await and the hard work and love has been growing the strength it takes to withstand and knowledge of when to retreat. the calm in trusting you've done your best and so will they.

based on the song harbor by vienna teng this dear sweet one is a heartfelt tribute to a parents great love, struggle and always evolving support. it's the gentle kindness that affirms something so simple, bright, and ever present in the comfort of a promise guiding you home.

your harbor

series life songs

24x24"

oil, acrylic, ink & fiber on canvas

hand stretched canvas

sountrack vienna teng harbor

oh, love strings,  no way i can create a series by that title and not include my favorite (love)song bird, lisa loeb." fools like me" is a "thank you very much"  for lisa's song of the same title. this one is way too personal for the world wide web, for sure. this kind of share really comes over coffee but i'll give it a vanilla go...

i have lived my whole love life, in heart search of the one that i always knew, he was the heart hope i always carried. i could totally feel him out there...somewhere. i knew him so well but he was no one i had ever met, i knew that too. for better or worse,  i have way about taking the long, hard road. life always allowed me that weighted opportunity to learn a thing or two.

long story short, we were connected long before we connected, all tangled up in the heap.  it was only a matter of finding my way to myself, through the crowded, heavy and knotted mess...then allowing myself to become available to my beautiful and honest truth. 

you know how they always say "the miracle was about to happen when you gave up", well, that is this. my version of "fools like me" is a testament to that truth. i found myself so dangerously close to hands in the air but my heart always knew better, "love was surely made for fools like me". and did it ever finally work out in the happiest of all endings, because then there was adam. "the sweetest kind of dream"...come true.

fools like me

series love strings

24x36"

oil, acrylic & guitar strings 

manufacturer stretched gallery canvas

soundtrack lisa loeb fools like me

cheers to the systematic approach. hands dirty, "get to work", appreciate the plan, the steps and show yourself you absolutely can and will. it's my dad's go to "you ain't gonna learn any younger".  the follow through that always seems so huge, and completely out of reach, until you pull it apart and tackle the pieces. "inch by inch" is my gratitude in all it's magnificence, all the best learning i've ever done...well.

"inch by inch" is layered and cultivated with primitive sensibility, intrinsic knowledge, expression, technicality and collaboration. oh how i love a good trio. it's guarded, boxed, protected because there's always the hungry opportunist waiting to pounce and snatch. that gifted awareness.

"inch by inch" is a push for the procrastinator. it's a promise that if you take that first step, the second comes easier. it's chaos in the overwhelmed beginning, honed in and organized, until it all lines up in neat little rows by the bountiful and glorious end. it's an acceptance of the beauty of organic imperfection that evolves into appreciation and love for the unique, rough edges. 

"inch by inch" is a life long lesson for me. it's my great affection for everything hard that has helped me find my soft. the clean, symmetrical, balanced energy is a prayer and "inch by inch, row by row" i come a little bit closer with every try.

inch by inch

series life songs

18x24"

acrylic, paper, muslin, cotton fabric & fiber

manufacturer gallery stretched canvas

soundtrack peter, paul & mary garden song

part of the deep dive of a series, life songs , "i can hear your voice" is a perfectly literal nod to the dead fan favorite "ripple" and a distant sister to another piece in the series, "living river". there is a beautiful and touching story here, the eternal bond and the kindest of all validations through loss and connections....between mother and daughter and mother and son. 

one of my many most valued gifts in this life has been my awareness and certainty in my connection to the universe, the gift of all of life and god. humanness, as one of many life experiences, is something i was born understanding as a period within a greater experience. there are stories of me reflecting on and referencing this connection at a very young age and it's something that i have, gratefully, always carried with me and felt on a very deep and profound level. i am very much an "old soul" but the love connection i have with this life is far bigger much deeper than that. 

ripple, an all time favorite song of so many, speaks directly to this awareness for me. this life experience, and this piece in particular is a demonstration of my gratitude for all of it. every single layer.  the times of question, confusion, validation, comfort and growth. i could go on forever but this is better served as a fireside chat than a website blurb. so i'll leave it with honest enthusiasm and a promise that "yes, i will hear your voice come through the music and i'll hold it near as if it were my own". 

i can hear your voice

series life songs

24x24"

oil, ink, paper, floss & fiber

hand stretched canvas

sound track grateful dead ripple