Artist's Statement

          My concentration focuses on the ironic juxtaposition of imagery. Some of the pieces I create appear humorous and ridiculous, while others are more outlandish and slightly wicked. I feel that my work reflects my personality, with its sense of eccentric humor and widely varied subject matter. All of my pieces are purposefully open to interpretation by the viewer—I prefer that viewers have to work a little harder to understand the underlying meanings of the work.​

          The odd figures, subjects, and settings seem to do the trick, prompting viewers to formulate their own ideas about what messages I might be conveying through my art. For instance, Image 7, which places the anthropomorphic figures, together in a rather carnal position, upon an innocent pink background dotted with flowers. This juxtaposition creates a slightly perverse irony and some ambiguity when it comes to the denotation of the piece. On the other hand, the irony in Image 5 brings some humor into the situation. The irony lies with the little girl: her hair is in pigtails, she holds a teddy bear, but she is also making a hand gesture at the painting on the wall before her—perhaps displaying her views on modern art. The simple backgrounds and varied media that I choose for most pieces not only work quite well to create the irony and absurdity evident in some of my pieces, but also in bringing the viewer’s focus to the figures. Certainly, the most attention should be paid to the cutout pieces, so that the viewer may focus on forming their connotations of the work. Take Image 9: a soft gradient of Japanese cherry blossom pink backs a geisha, partially concealed behind a fan of large bird wings. The understated background tone allows the eye to stay on the graphite geisha, undistracted.