Art came to my attention in Europe. At 20 years old, I had visited the Louvre, seen the David in Florence, the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and fallen for Matisse and Impressionism. At first, I became a black and white photographer, fascinated by capturing something intriguing, and then using the darkroom to magically piece images with others, to find new connection – combinations that create something exciting, an invitation to see differently. But color always seemed too easy, it brought reality, yes, but nothing new. In some ways color scared me. But when digital photography arrived and the darkroom disappeared, my muse traveled on.
Traveling has continued to offer inspiration. Going to new place offers new ways to see the world. I have been inspired by the Renaissance, by Picasso, and Matisse, and Dali, but also by ancient art in Egypt, South Africa, China and Brazil.
One specific travel inspiration came from visiting my sister in Nevada. She was carving gourds, which dries to a hard, but grain-less wood. I loved her stuff, so she gave me a few gourds to cut and carve and turn into lace. Years later, after slipping on the ice and breaking my wrist, carving had to be put on hold, so I started experimenting more with glass and other materials. I also experimented with combining cut gourds with glass.
I grew up in the desert but discovered the sea. Somehow these coincidences erupted in breaking things into small pieces of color and glueing them together: hence, combining things and making something new. Now, it is the colors of these things that seem to drive me
Is that Picasso whispering to me, or the lace like carved wood in Turkish screens, or is it subtle bits of complimentary Mediterranean colors, or African shapes, or Brazilian cacophonous interactions. I don’t know where the colors will lead. I might begin with a carved gourd planning to add brilliant colors with cut mosaic glass. I begin with a notion – looking for a rhythm: sometimes it dies, sometimes I finish something that satisfies my original vision, but sometimes – that rhythm takes over, now the colors and materials – make new travels, for me.
