My work has evolved over the decades, including metalwork, clay and woodwork, and now I focus on painting and soft sculpture.
In my watercolors, I observe the quality of each flower, tree and wave as well as their relationship with each other. My aim is to maintain the freshness, color, and vitality of the natural object while playing with the fluid qualities of watercolor as a painting medium. My interest in music and dance relate to my painting style. I enjoy listening to music while I work and it often guides the speed and flow of my brush. My participation in creative movement dance enables me to feel a relationship between physical movement and brush movement. For acrylic work, I also enjoy working with the brush as well as working brushless with minimal guidance allowing the paint to flow naturally.
My soft sculpture grows out of my painting style which not only involves line, and color but also sculptural ideas of form, shape, movement, repetition and texture. These concepts also relate to my participation in creative movement bringing painting, sculpture and dance together. The soft sculptures are made from repurposed materials, primarily denim and other fabrics discarded by family and friends. My creative process begins with cutting material and sewing pleats to imbue the fabric with structure. I work with the material’s innate qualities, honoring its distinct characteristics. I create three-dimensional forms with repurposed cloth using zig-zag stitches giving form and structure. The material asks to be cut, sewn, gathered, pleated and unraveled. ln this manner, my work can be linked to traditional sculptors who respect the unique characteristics of their materials.
Conceptually, my soft sculptures investigate ideas of traditional women’s labor, the interplay between craft and fine arts, and circular economies aimed at eliminating waste and the continual extraction of resources.
I was born in Germany after World War Two and lived in five Displaced Persons camps before arriving by ship in the United States at the age of five. Upon arriving in our new country, my parents both continued to work with sewing machines, my mother sewing clothes and my father making shoes. For my sculptures I use a Singer industrial sewing machine that my father acquired in New York City.
In my watercolors, I observe the quality of each flower, tree and wave as well as their relationship with each other. My aim is to maintain the freshness, color, and vitality of the natural object while playing with the fluid qualities of watercolor as a painting medium. My interest in music and dance relate to my painting style. I enjoy listening to music while I work and it often guides the speed and flow of my brush. My participation in creative movement dance enables me to feel a relationship between physical movement and brush movement. For acrylic work, I also enjoy working with the brush as well as working brushless with minimal guidance allowing the paint to flow naturally.
My soft sculpture grows out of my painting style which not only involves line, and color but also sculptural ideas of form, shape, movement, repetition and texture. These concepts also relate to my participation in creative movement bringing painting, sculpture and dance together. The soft sculptures are made from repurposed materials, primarily denim and other fabrics discarded by family and friends. My creative process begins with cutting material and sewing pleats to imbue the fabric with structure. I work with the material’s innate qualities, honoring its distinct characteristics. I create three-dimensional forms with repurposed cloth using zig-zag stitches giving form and structure. The material asks to be cut, sewn, gathered, pleated and unraveled. ln this manner, my work can be linked to traditional sculptors who respect the unique characteristics of their materials.
Conceptually, my soft sculptures investigate ideas of traditional women’s labor, the interplay between craft and fine arts, and circular economies aimed at eliminating waste and the continual extraction of resources.
I was born in Germany after World War Two and lived in five Displaced Persons camps before arriving by ship in the United States at the age of five. Upon arriving in our new country, my parents both continued to work with sewing machines, my mother sewing clothes and my father making shoes. For my sculptures I use a Singer industrial sewing machine that my father acquired in New York City.