Working Large and Loving It

Several years ago I began to itch for something new creatively, and it seemed an impossible itch to scratch. I tried medium after medium, technique after technique, idea after idea. Nothing stuck, nothing scratched. Mornings greeted me with an abundance of creativity only to fade into evenings of deflated optimism. Yet I could never stop trying to find the *something* that would satisfy a persistent need for creative growth and escape from boredom in the studio.

Miniature painting is, rather ironically, a very large part of my artistic identity. But it is not the whole of it, and I needed a space to discover and define the other parts. So I created another studio, one simply for the purpose of making something Different. And what have I discovered? Primarily that creative habits are as difficult to break as regular habits are! Working in a studio has always been a comfort, but now I had to be harsh task master, gentle counselor and creative ass-kicker all in one. Things nearly came to a boiling point when I had to ban myself from paint brushes altogether. What happened then? I grabbed a palette knife and never looked back. Sometimes you have to Force yourself out of a comfort zone in order to discover a new one. And then you must do it all over again, and again.

So here is a sample of work that best defines the artist herself as a “work in progress”. Some of these pieces will be on display, for the very first time, at Gallery 8 during their summer exhibition “Four”. The show opens tomorrow evening, Friday June 15th, from 5-8pm.

Below is the piece titled “Second Nature” along with a few close-ups to see the texture I’m working with. This style is a lot of fun to do and inspired by a love of pottery.