Reflecting on my creative process I see a need to visually "interconnect," the world in which I live; the interrelationships of humanity with each other and in both the physical and spiritual planes. There are unconscious essences I seek to express. Movement of the spirit is a powerful impulse from which to create the sound I see in experiences. Gesture solidifies meaning in both two and three dimensional work. The early years of my development were graced with the influence of outstanding teachers from the Hans Hoffman school, the musicality of Alvin Ailey, and poets from the Lower East Side of New York. It was the human qualities of these individuals which so resonated with me, the perfect imperfection.

My mind as well as my physical self "roams," absorbing moments from which to begin to construct, deconstruct, move textures, or swirl lines and forms towards an integrated whole. During the journey materials reveal themselves each with a particular quality which extends the creative meaning for each work. For example,the catalpa pod brings the opportunity to draw in space through the elegant line I see. While different types of pine needles offer a counterpoint to lyricism on the picture plane. And pumice offers a subtle shift in the texture of time. With paint and pigment these materials combine with each other to challenge existing paradigms of creativity.

Several decades ago a woman suggested I apply to an art residency. I did, and found my way to Samos, Greece. I remember a distinct "peace," as I interacted with people close to the "aged "earth. A push was there to experience, "what is beyond the grotto," to be fully involved in the process of discovery. This also includes darker elements of my perceptions as well as those of a lighter nature. A serious dedication ensued to find personal meaning in a "way," not yet expressed. Subsequent travels to Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Europe, Central America and the Island of Roatan as well as through the vast landscape of America have shaped a cross cultural perspective which activates the direction in my work.

In the Canary Canopy series of paintings I overlap the view point of looking "UP," and "TOGETHER," meshing moments in memory into the present, juxtaposing the Amazon and Central Park. Figurative elements intertwine with the organic. And, at another level of meaning these paintings address the question of what is BEYOND the canopy we see. Hanging Structures illuminate human anatomy, interconnecting a transcending spirt. The shadows of these pieces dance on surfaces shifting time. In a recent series of clay, figures appear at the appropriate moment, pushing and pulling, twisting, adding and subtracting. WHY? I want to stir, provoke, and reclaim beauty through the WHOLE. I do not create an idol of art but rather a plane from which to continue toward understanding.