ARTIST STATEMENT

"April's green endures"   
Etching with softground, drypoint, and aquatint  Earth Day 2002

A bittersweet reflection on the gentle spring following September 11, 2001. The title is from Wallace Stevens' poem "Sunday Morning" :
"....She says, "I am content when wakened birds,
        Before they fly, test the reality
        Of misty fields, by their sweet questionings;
        But when the birds are gone, and their warm fields
        Return no more, where, then, is paradise?"
        There is not any haunt of prophecy,
        Nor any old chimera of the grave,
        Neither the golden underground, nor isle
        Melodious, where spirits gat them home,
        Nor visionary south, nor cloudy palm
 

After ten years of painting and then working with woodcuts, I was drawn to etching because I liked the possibilities for direct drawing, intricate detail, textures and patterns, contrasts and subtleties of tone. I've always loved working with the figure: the complexity and grace in anatomy, the variety of movement, shape and expression in eyes, faces and hands. Recurring themes include the discovery of numerous figures within a larger form, half-seen figures, political concerns, feminist reinterpretations of religious traditions, myths and legends, and expressing the sacred nature of ordinary experience. Metaphor and symbolism intrigue me: the prints explore ambiguity, mystery and the complication of inner space. I especially admire the work of Leonard Baskin, Kathe Kollwitz, Pavel Tchelitchev, Odd Nerdrum and Alfredo Castaneda.