Line Etchings
Architecture is one of the strongest symbols we have that allow us to instantly recognize when and where we are in the world. The buildings in a big city are as diverse as the people who live there. They vary in size, color, material, detail, and age. Built over centuries by different people, buildings tell the story of our history. They have experienced the best and worst of humanity, seeing everything but revealing nothing. They are secret keepers, quiet and respectful of those who constructed them and those who worked and lived in them. They are strong protectors and provide shelter for those who need it. They oversee the progress of civilization, losing touch with nature as the population booms and more buildings are needed. And although their forms and details can be beautiful, they are not braggadocious, they stand proud and down to earth.
While their exteriors present us with strength and beauty, the contents and inhabitants of their interiors are often unexpected. Some businesses that occupy these buildings suit them perfectly like a butcher and shoe shop with their ground-floor large windows displaying their goods, while other businesses, like a dentist, go hidden within tall unassuming buildings down narrow hallways and behind frosted-windowed doors. As buildings and occupants come together, cities are born, gathering populations together onto one big stage. In a city, one can be incognito while being in plain sight, observing a dance of chaos where everyone’s roles intermingle perfectly. The fast pace of the city’s occupants intermingled with the slow meander of tourists against the backdrop of concrete and brick begin to balance each other, creating a calming and serene effect.
Watercolors
Architecture is one of the strongest symbols we have that allow us to instantly recognize when and where we are in the world. The buildings in a big city are as diverse as the people who live there. They vary in size, color, material, detail, and age. Built over centuries by different people, buildings tell the story of our history. They have experienced the best and worst of humanity, seeing everything but revealing nothing. They are secret keepers, quiet and respectful of those who constructed them and those who worked and lived in them. They are strong protectors and provide shelter for those who need it. They oversee the progress of civilization, losing touch with nature as the population booms and more buildings are needed. And although their forms and details can be beautiful, they are not braggadocious, they stand proud and down to earth.
While their exteriors present us with strength and beauty, the contents and inhabitants of their interiors are often unexpected. Some businesses that occupy these buildings suit them perfectly like a butcher and shoe shop with their ground-floor large windows displaying their goods, while other businesses, like a dentist, go hidden within tall unassuming buildings down narrow hallways and behind frosted-windowed doors. As buildings and occupants come together, cities are born, gathering populations together onto one big stage. In a city, one can be incognito while being in plain sight, observing a dance of chaos where everyone’s roles intermingle perfectly. The fast pace of the city’s occupants intermingled with the slow meander of tourists against the backdrop of concrete and brick begin to balance each other, creating a calming and serene effect.
Watercolors
When learning that I would be living in Germany for three years I decided to take on a different medium as printmaking, with all its equipment, seemed like it could be dfficult. My choice was to become a painter taking on color as my line etchings are black and white. I invested in a set of watercolors so I could transport them easily when I visited towns, cathedrals, museums and the countryside looking for inspiration that would become my voice.
After a year, I visited an old museum in Nice, France that had limited guards due to the creaky floors that alerted them to the wanderings of visitors. In the final gallery I came upon the works of Raoul Dufy and inspiration struck with the way he painted blocks of color and painted outside the lines.
On the way back to the hotel I stopped at a small bookstore and asked if they had a book on Dufy. They didn’t but had just received a shipment. They searched the boxes and found a small fragile book titled, “Dufy” by the publisher Skira. Written in French I could not read the text, but the images spoke volumes. I took the book to dinner that night and poured over his work.
I start a watercolor with a painted gesture drawing of colored blocks and line. It sets the stage as it is freer than my detailed personality would normally allow. This first layer will contribute to the shadows, shapes and textures of the work. My organized, tight-knit self then takes over, drawing the image on top and adding detail. I don’t worry about having the first layer and the actual drawing “line up” as I feel the swatches of “misplaced” colors create movement in my work. I mix abstract with reality, breaking down the landscape and working out the puzzle on how to fit everything together, pushing and pulling images with more watercolor and line until they click. I get lost in the process, the beautiful worlds where I can escape to and dream.
Ceramics
I create hand built, coiled ceramic sculptures applying textured detail to the surface prior to firing.
The work originated from the underwater landscapes I observed while snorkeling. I first made singular coiled tubes then started connecting the tubes to create structures - I felt that there was an interaction between each other as individuals that share a secret, are in conversation with each other or that are working together for the good of the group. Other pieces came across like large apartment buildings on a small scale where each person’s balcony were represented by the marks I made on the surfaces of each piece. My rounder works harken back to the mystical underwater landscapes.
I mostly work with porcelain but will also incorporate copper shaving from my etchings to create more variation on the surface and to connect my etchings to my ceramics. While gardening in my backyard in Morristown, NJ (where General Washington settled to use the iron rich soil to make cannon balls and other artillery) I have found the iron rich clay to be workable and can stand up to intense firings.
After a year, I visited an old museum in Nice, France that had limited guards due to the creaky floors that alerted them to the wanderings of visitors. In the final gallery I came upon the works of Raoul Dufy and inspiration struck with the way he painted blocks of color and painted outside the lines.
On the way back to the hotel I stopped at a small bookstore and asked if they had a book on Dufy. They didn’t but had just received a shipment. They searched the boxes and found a small fragile book titled, “Dufy” by the publisher Skira. Written in French I could not read the text, but the images spoke volumes. I took the book to dinner that night and poured over his work.
I start a watercolor with a painted gesture drawing of colored blocks and line. It sets the stage as it is freer than my detailed personality would normally allow. This first layer will contribute to the shadows, shapes and textures of the work. My organized, tight-knit self then takes over, drawing the image on top and adding detail. I don’t worry about having the first layer and the actual drawing “line up” as I feel the swatches of “misplaced” colors create movement in my work. I mix abstract with reality, breaking down the landscape and working out the puzzle on how to fit everything together, pushing and pulling images with more watercolor and line until they click. I get lost in the process, the beautiful worlds where I can escape to and dream.
Ceramics
I create hand built, coiled ceramic sculptures applying textured detail to the surface prior to firing.
The work originated from the underwater landscapes I observed while snorkeling. I first made singular coiled tubes then started connecting the tubes to create structures - I felt that there was an interaction between each other as individuals that share a secret, are in conversation with each other or that are working together for the good of the group. Other pieces came across like large apartment buildings on a small scale where each person’s balcony were represented by the marks I made on the surfaces of each piece. My rounder works harken back to the mystical underwater landscapes.
I mostly work with porcelain but will also incorporate copper shaving from my etchings to create more variation on the surface and to connect my etchings to my ceramics. While gardening in my backyard in Morristown, NJ (where General Washington settled to use the iron rich soil to make cannon balls and other artillery) I have found the iron rich clay to be workable and can stand up to intense firings.
