About the Work
My work is about joy. About remembering the positives in life. About possibilities. I want the viewer to feel inspired, hopeful and to view the world in a more light-hearted manner.
I know the value of positive thinking on the quality of our lives. I also know that we sometimes need reminders to think this way. It is my hope that my work will help provide that reminder. To act as a kind of dream board. A gentle nudge to live in the moment, realign our thoughts to the positive ,and make the world a little happier place so that when your day is brighter, you pass on that joy to others. I like to think of it as a sort of "pay it forward art".
Image Key
Below are some of the meanings in the imagery I use in my work.
Birds- The heart or Love Men- confidence
Rabbits- naiveté, ego Women- self, nurturing
Bears- strength Clouds- aspirations, future
Elephants- whimsy, happiness, wisdom Houses- safety, acceptance
Dogs- friends Balloons- hopes and dreams
Butterflies- freedom, choice
Girls/Boys- innocence, innocent
self
Whales- wisdom Ships -dreams, future
Fox- mischief, calm, contentment Stars- memories,
spirits
Victorian Figures- society, culture,
values Horses- pride, strength
Flowers/Plants -growth (physical, spiritual,
emotional)
The Process
I choose to work in mixed media collage. I love the flexibility of mixed media and find art to be more visually appealing and interesting the more visual texture it has from different media.
Each piece begins with layers of paper. Some are found papers and some are papers that I created myself.
Then layers of acrylic paint are applied to the surface. At this point, I will sometimes etch into the surface of the paint with scissors, the back of a paintbrush, or use rubber stamps to add texture and visual interest.
Once the paint has dried, I add paper collage images. Some of these images have been sourced from antique illustrations and altered to my vision. Others are images that I create myself.
The work is then finished with pen and ink details.
My Background
I am a mixed media collage artist from McHenry, IL. Which is a far Northwest suburb of Chicago. I have a Master's degree in Digital Imaging from Governor's State University and a Master's degree in Professional Counseling from Webster University.
I have been working in the medium of collage since 2005 and spent my undergraduate years as a painter at Southern Illinois University.