: A Look Inside the Studio… “Neither Here Nor There”

This piece is about experience and emotion, not the technical aspects of creating it. But I worked out some new technical issues that I liked, using monoprinted background sheer fabrics as a basis for freehand drawing. I like the addition of this element to the texture of fabric collage.

What interests me about this subject matter is layers of experience. We see the girl, and also see some suggestions of inside of her. Working with fabric in layers, I physically create and then manipulate layers of color and texture. Layers of meaning are what interest me. Layers of fabric are my method of artmaking. The way of making is a perfect fit for the work’s meaning.

The completed work is HERE

Imagining the In-Between Stages

On every journey, there are in-between-stages…

Two books I just finished reading dealt with young people who are in-between, drifting, looking for meaning and the next step. I am drawn to the feeling of being unsettled. Something is changing. Circumstances are new. There are myriad possible answers to the question, “What happens next?” Have you felt this way? I have. As a child I did not like for things to be unsettled. The experience is the source of a recent work “Neither Here nor There.”

I like this girl. I find myself wondering about her—where she has been, what she is feeling. I want the loose drawing style to let her speak to many possible stages. She is not one particular girl. She is the heart of all girls’ journeys. Including the stages in-between.

 (See this work on my web site  HERE  )