STATEMENTS

The Shakti Series

Shakti is Sanskrit for the divine, female force of creation. These paintings are visual expressions of a text by the poet Sandra Hochman. Each piece is titled from one of her poems. The large works in this series are 60 X 60 acrylic on canvas. The smaller paintings are gouache on handmade paper, 15 X 15.

The Text Series

The text that inspired and then identified the shakti work took over. These paintings are the same size and medium, 60 X 60 acrylic on canvas, but instead of relating to a series of poems, each painting is a visual response to a single line or short phrase. I’m still making these. The one above is from the poet Rumi. Some are from lines by Emily Dickinson, William Blake, Carl Phillips, others.

The Drip and Pour Series

Marrakesh - 60 X 60 - acrylic on canvas — Marrakesh — 60 X 60 — acrylic on canvas

This group of paintings may or may not have text, or if they do, the relationship is not always obvious. They’re based on landscape, dreamscape, and are often inspired by a particular place — like Marrakesh. Some works use pours of acrylic paint to create a layered color field. Others build dimension with strokes or collage.

Grid Series [Leela]

Throughout my career, I have always made collages, often collecting scraps of failed paintings and turning them into small works that capture something spontaneous and emotional. This series of grids uses that process on a larger scale. Each square captures a moment or mood. Taken together, they create a map of gestures, a landscape of form and feeling. “Leela” means “divine play” in Sanskrit, which felt fitting for this body of work.

Text from– I am the Loon [Jana Harris]

She Said I Am — 60 X 60 — acrylic on canvas

She said I am the glacier
That gouged the high mountain lake,
I am the white owl
Crying across the moon.
I am the loon.
I am the feather
And the song
And the breath
Of the feather
That rests on the pond.

Text from the surface of– “setting the river on fire” [Robert Lowell]

Setting the River on Fire — acrylic on canvas

feather to fire
fire to blood
blood to bone
to marrow
to ghost

Text from– a rose is a rose is a rose III [Gertrude Stein]

A Rose Triptych — Panel I — 60 X 60 — acrylic on canvas

rose/eros

as these blossoms wilt away
on this page
remember
a rose
is
a rose