Artist Statement

Over the years, I have enjoyed a number of hobbies. Flower gardening, sewing and making paper, to name a few.  Recently, I’ve found a way to combine all three of these crafts. First during the growing season, I pick and press a variety of flowers/leaves that will become my color palette.   Next, I make paper using natural materials. Then I hand stitch different kinds of paper together. This serves as my canvass. I paint the canvass with my pressed flowers and glue them down into a design. At this point a final stitching occurs to create interest and balance. Although I love creating flower arrangements such as wreaths and bouquets, I am also exploring areas of feminine/feminist themed work. This creative process has brought me much joy, much challenge and given me a way to  express my voice. 

Flowers

Flowers have a natural beauty and strength. They are ancient organisms that have helped to feed and populate the world. They remind me that a short life can be well lived. I have enjoyed the science of pressing and drying them. I never know exactly how they will emerge from between the drying sheets. I have enjoyed the challenge of assembling these small shapes into ideas of beauty, thoughtfulness and activism.

Paper

Our paper making group uses natural fibers to make pulp and then screens to pull the sheets into paper. It is slow and old art. In our fast digital age of ours, it seems almost obsolete. Throughout time, paper has documented much of human civilization. In my own lifetime, words and images from paper have brought me laughter and tears,  anger and joy, fear and wonder. Paper is an ancient medium full of magic.

Mother Mary

In my Catholic upbringing, Mother Mary was always a beacon of hope, kindness and feminism. I loved her goodness and power as a divine being who would look out for me. I don’t think Mary had much to say on the church’s rules regarding women’s roles and reproductive rights. Maturity and life experiences have led me to disagree with the Church. I believe that women have the right to bear children on their own terms in their best interests. It is said that Mother Mary on several occasions would whisper to Jesus and ask him to intercede for the poor, the vulnerable, the frightened. I think she would be an advocate for women making their own choices on what is best for them.  She would not want women to suffer.

I have created a series of Pro-choice Marys that embody this thought.

The Uterus

A woman’s uterus is an extraordinarily, powerful organ.  It is something to celebrate. Uteruses have populated the world for millennia. It is an organ that has proved to be strong, resilient and intelligent. It is something to call  Our Own. Ours. Mine.  After the overturning of Roe V Wade, I became disturbingly aware of how precarious women’s rights are. These rights depend on the people who create laws and those who destroy them. This is time to be vigilant and a time to speak out on our own terms. This is not a time to be quiet.

I have created a series of uterus bouquets to celebrate women and to evoke greater awareness.