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Bio
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Education:
-Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, Arts concentration, May 2004, Awarded the Rulewater Prize for outstanding writing and reflection on an interdisciplinary thesis subject
-Continuing studies at the Washington Art Association, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Women's Studio Workshop
-Studied brushwork and calligraphy, Tokyo, Japan, 1983-84
-Smith College, Northampton, MA, Bachelor of Arts, Art History and Psychology, May 1980
-The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, visiting student, 1978-1979
Exhibitions:
Canton Gallery, Canton, CT
Zilkah Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Stairwell Gallery, Gunn Memorial Library, "Water for Tea", 2005
Washingon Art Association Members Show, Honorable Mention Photography (2011, 2012, 2014)
Minor Memorial Library, Roxbury, CT, "Mono No Aware: The Awareness of Things", Fall 2012
Washington Art Association Members Show, 1st Place Photography, 2013, 2nd Place Photography 2016
Stairwell Gallery, Gunn Memorial Library, "Borrowed Scenery", 2015
My focus has always been in the book arts. In 2004 I completed a master's degree at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, with a concentration in art. I spent much of my studio time studying Japanese woodblock printing, sumi-e (Japanese brushwork and painting), typography and letterpress printing, and artist's books. I also studied Zen Buddhism, which prompted me to begin writing haiku as a form of active meditation. During this time I was exposed to two important collections of artist's books, at Wesleyan's Special Collections and Archives and at Yale's Arts of the Book. As the final requirement for the degree, I designed, printed and bound a limited edition artist's book, Water for Tea, which combined many of the elements I had been studying and experimenting with while at Wesleyan. This artist's book uses some of the basic elements of the book form as a jumping off point for my creativity. Calligraphy, brushwork, handmade papers, letterpress printing, color, translucency, and my own words are combined to engage the reader/viewer in a playful and active way. It is a book that requires time and active participation from the reader, much like haiku and sumi-e drawing which both present minimal amounts of information. I ask the reader to use his or her own imagination, memories and associations to fully experience the poems, the drawings and the book as a whole. Taking time to breathe(!) and being in the present moment are necessary requirements for good haiku or brushwork, and important aspects of experiencing Water for Tea.
Recently, I have been experimenting with combining photography, monotypes, encaustic and collage with my brushwork and calligraphy. Using shapes and images that have always intrigued me, I continue to learn, study and make some progress. The Japanese woodblock artist, Hokusai, described the time and diligence necessary for the mastery of the brush:
"From the age of 5 I have had a mania for sketching the forms of things. From
about the age to 50 I produced a number of designs, yet of all I drew to the age of 70
there is nothing of great note. At the age of 73 I finally apprehended something of
true quality of birds, insects, fishes and the vital nature of grasses and trees. There-
fore, at 80 I shall have made some progress, at 90 I shall have penetrated even further
the deeper meaning of things, at 100 I shall have become truly marvelous, and at 110,
each dot, each line shall surely possess a life of its own."
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