My work is developed in series. Each series has its own connecting thread. Text is often an integrated part. Throughout the entire collection the unifying energy is that each piece has the following layers of response: * Visual impression including the image, media, and technique. * A personal response to the design aesthetic, * Awareness of a deeper level of meaning, * Contemplation of "What does this mean for me?" * The spiritual synergy that evolves with the piece. Whimsical Birds These sterling birds have metaphoric messages which upon first glance are light and playful. But beyond the first impression is encouragement for us to ponder. Each jewelry piece houses in a 14" x 14" x 1.25" acrylic home until brought out to be worn and to be enjoyed as a piece of wall art when not worn. The jewelry pieces range from 2" to 4" in width or height. A collection of 16"x 20" watercolors mirror the thoughts and images of the silver series.
About the Author: I am committed to truthful art. The voices of nature and our own stories are my funding forces. Technical skills become the carrier, not an end. I consider myself an artistic problem solver creating poetic objects as my response to nature and the human condition. Balances reflected in the work include the whimsical with the spiritual, the technical with the metaphoric, and the personal with the universal. I am aware that the extraordinary is in the ordinary if we take time to be with it. My education began in my mother's art studio where messing around was not only allowed but encouraged. My father's desire to see a more traditional direction led to an English lit focus with teaching certification, followed by art education certification and an M.A. in Designer Crafts and Painting-all from Iowa State University. Postgraduate work included course work in art therapy, counseling, and administrative endorsement plus numerous art and humanities workshops across the country. As a career art educator I taught for more than thirty years in public schools (primarily high school), Drake University as an adjunct art professor, teacher training workshops and at the Des Moines Art Center. I have had four solo shows in Iowa and have been carried by art galleries in Iowa, Colorado and Arizona. My artwork is an amalgamation of my life experiences. And as long as I am blessed with the ability to create, I will. I wish you joy in your own truth seeking. May this work prod a thought or two.