Artist Statement

As an educator, I want to foster a feeling in my students that they are free to take chances because they are in a safe environment to do so. As far as art making goes, I believe in the practice of liberating everyday objects from their original meanings and finding new ways to look at them by using juxtaposition, color, and creating a digitally manipulated quality to whatever medium I am working in.

As far as art making goes, I believe in the practice of liberating everyday objects from their original meanings and finding new ways to look at them…

I want my art to be an honest expression of how I see the world around me, including everyday individualistic life and everyday society. For me, art and philosophy (my conceptual ideas) go hand in hand but each is a manifestation of communication in different forms. I feel that art is ultimately individualistic, because no one person will see the meaning behind my art exactly the same as I will, but that does not mean that others cannot understand my art completely. I really do not have a particular medium by which I prefer to express my ideas. I enjoy working in drawing, painting, ceramics, photography, printmaking, and most recently the realm of computer art.

Along a more philosophical and conceptual level, I feel that it is important to ask questions regarding reality: how we perceive it, and how we come to understand it. The meanings that we associate with objects of the material world are meanings that we come to understand through education and experience. Through the use of juxtaposition, I attempt to call into question the very means by which we place certain meanings with certain objects. Is this true reality? Is there an ulterior reality? Or do we live in a world of illusion?

Movements in art such as surrealism, cubism, the philosophical implications of Dada, the world of Duchamp, the ideas behind avant-garde installation art, and the issues put forth from Feminist and multicultural art are the issues involved in art theory that inspire me to look to the future in hopes of discovering uncharted territory for art and artistic expression.

The various media that I work in includes drawing, collage, acrylics, oils, mixed media, digital imaging, and occasionally ceramics. I strongly believe that the artist and teacher should set an excellent example of how to be an artist for his/her audience and students.