"Lifeline"

30" x 30"

Digital Print on Watercolor Paper

Body and Soul...Maker and Machine

The Stone Gods - Jeanette Winterson

“The line that fed me, the line that breathed me, the line that tapped messages from the world outside, the line that was a tightrope between her fear and my joy, the line I would have to cross, some day, and never come back.  The line that is the first line of this story - I was born.  The line that had nothing to read between it - being only one, one only, my lifeline.”

I love, love, love her words.  What I really am drawn to is that it is written from the perspective of the little life inside.  The one that rarely has a voice.  

This piece is from my series, "Where Earth Meets Sky" and I came up with the title first and then somehow while digging through old sketchbooks ran across this Winterson quote I had jotted down years ago.  How perfect.  I knew even back then...funny how things work out.  

Recent News

Visting Artist Adventure

The trip to my alma mater as a visiting arist was so inspiring.

The students and faculty that attended the "Erase to Reveal" workshop at BGSU really allowed themselves to give into the process and tap into some meaningful messages. I've included a an example of a poem and photo pairing that resulted from their efforts.

* Excuse the linework - this picture was taken while the image was on screen!

Natural Tendencies

More on the exhibition I am curating, "Natural Tendencies"...

The photograph below is of work by Christine Mauersberger, one of the talented artists exhibiting work in this upcoming show. 

All the artists / work has been chosen and here is a write up I've done that sheds some light on the meaning behind the title:

A group exhibition of seven artists from the Cleveland area exploring the tendencies of our minds and emotional states with a vocabulary centering around the natural world. The works on view range from painting, stitching, ceramics, and kinetic sculpture to photography, printmaking, and chalk pastel. 

Although there is a common thread, each artist has a completely unique and intriguing approach to their creative process.
Judith Brandon pours her intent out through hidden text scratched into the surface of the paper and then proceeds to cover it in layers of drawing, watercolor, and finally pastel. Her works, such as the tumultuous "Blue Adversary", start with private thoughts running through the artist's head but end up connecting to the masses with their universal language. 

Mark Yasencheck taps into the more ancient, ritualistic qualities of the natural world - ones that speak to our core with their obscure religious references. His materials are literally of the earth and his intricate process brings order and calm to the chaos of our fragmented world. 

From Dana Oldfather's dense build-up of color and form, to the simplicity and silence of Christine Mauersberger's single stitch, each of these process-oriented artists have a way of bringing out an awareness in the viewer of their own natural rhythms and at the same time the collective state of human nature.

Digital Handmade

It's exciting to see my blog, Digital Handmade, finally gaining some traction. 

I've been writing on topics surrounding authenticity in art making for about nine months now with the intention of eventually transforming all of these topics into a book.  

"Making Space" was my latest post and it centers around carving our your own creative sanctuary right now rather than waiting for an ideal time or space. Before that "Make What You Love", addresses the question of how one's artistic practice can not only survive but actually thrive despite the daily grind.  "Learning to Love the Unexpected", asks the artist to trust in the process and reconsider what Digital Art is and where it can take you next.

As many a conversation has shown me, we are dealing with similiar issues and thoughts within our practices.  I started this blog with the hopes of connecting like minds.  As a Digital Artist it was always hard to find reading material that incorporated digital and traditional concerns on the same level.  So I sought out to do just that.  

Art is life - so even those non-creatives out there should be able to get something from this.  Go ahead and take a look, you just might be surprised...

Please feel free to contact me with with any inquries.

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