Light as a Feather

Borrowed from childhood, the title Light as a Feather references the adolescent game where the objective of the exercise is to ritually levitate one of your friends. It questions the borders not just between life and death, but also between magic and banality, between the serious and the childish, between the power of the individual and the power of the group. Using lightweight substrates with encaustic processes, pieces in the exhibit give form to the immaterial to explore the ephemeral nature of being.

Wing and a Prayer

Paper, drawing media, encaustic
42 × 50 × 11 inches
2025

A Return

Paper, wire
70 × 74 × 5 inches
2025

For alchemists, gold represents the perfection of matter, the mind, spirit, and soul.

Talisman

Plaster bandage, string, encaustic
53 × 7 × 4 inches
2024

Through All Kinds of Weather

Digital print on fabric, cherry wood, encaustic
65 × 85 × 6 inches
2025

Dust to Dust

Found tumbleweeds, silver spray paint
12 × 66 × 38 inches
2025

We all will crumble to dust.

She's as Light as a Feather

Tissue paper, gauze, candles
64 × 24 × 6 inches
2025

Flourish

Netting, wire, encaustic
15 × 17 × 6 inches
2025

Our potential to grow.

The Bardo (at Sunrise)

Fabric, Foss Shape, wire, trim, feathers
88 × 52 × 22 inches
2025

The Bardo is a Tibetan word that refers to the gap or space between any two states, most notably the period between death and rebirth. Garments are sewn together from different lives, hand sewn into a dancing figurative form.

Mariboe Gallery Installation of Pedestals.jpg

What Binds Us & Channel (on right)

Connected through classical music, my son found his calling. My mother was an opera singer and they really did not know each other.

What Binds Us (left)
Digital print on silk, digital print on polyester, digital print on blanket, silk and polyester fabric
93 x 40 x 6 inches
2020

Channel (right)
Horsehair, thread, encaustic
20 x 15 x 4.5 inches
2019

Channel
Horsehair, thread, encaustic
20 × 15 × 4.5 inches
2019

Cast hands of my son through which the cello music flows.

Donna L Sands Exhibition Hall - small works

Left to right

Untethered
Fiber, paper, encaustic
26 x 11 x 3 inches
2020

Cloud Messenger 9 (2 panels)
Encaustic monotype collage on wood panel
12 x 6 x 1 inches (each panel)
2013

Hope is the Thing with Feathers
Fiber, paper, encaustic
11 x 5 x 4 inches
2021

Flesh and Bone
FossShape, wire, encaustic
7 x 5 x 4 inches
2020

Ancestors
Fiber, tar paper, encaustic
5 x 3.5 x 2 inches
2020

Underbelly
Cotton, webbing, deconstructed dress, netting, seam binding, encaustic
25 x 29 x 16 inches
2019

My Mother’s Dreams
Wire, deconstructed dress, antique silk, batting and thread
18 x 13 x 5 inches
2022

The Heartache of Memory
Deconstructed sari, detachable bra strap, buckram, deconstructed silk blouse, hand-felted wool, thread, encaustic
16 x 9 x 4 inches
2022

Heartstrings
Paper, string, acrylic, R&F oil paintstick
4.5 x 5 x 3.5 inches
2020

Into the Pink
Ceramic, encaustic
4 × 4 × 3 inches
2017

Mariboe Gallery

Detail - Through All Kinds of Weather

We support our family through all kinds of weather.

Seams (left) & Cradle (right)

Donna L Sands Exhibition Space

One question I was asked at the artist talk was whether pieces take on new meaning over time.

The left is The Seams, originally torn between child and parent duties. Since then my mother has died, my son is off to college, but there are new topics that pull me at the seams.

The right is Cradle, originally made referencing motherhood memories, but with my mother, sister and father dying and seeing them close to the end, it carries new meanings.

They are flanking windows to the outer world - a place to gaze and contemplate the work and the far away.

The Seams (left)
Mixed media installation with encaustic
80 x 66 x 4 inches
2018

Cradle (right)
Foam, paper, silk, hand-felted wool, Foss Shape, repurposed scarf, tissue paper, faux fur, wallpaper, thread, encaustic
52 x 36 x 14 inches
2024

Stairway to Heaven

Netting, pipe cleaners
12 × 5 × 3 inches
2024

Cloud Fragment

Fabric, wire, encaustic
10 x 12 x 1 inches (each panel)
2013

Foss Shape, encaustic
7.5 × 5 × 2.5 inches
2024

History and the Moment

These pieces address the process of loss.

My Mother's Dreams

Wire, deconstructed dress, antique silk, batting and thread
18 x 13 x 5 inches
2022

The Heartache of Memory

Deconstructed sari, detachable bra strap, buckram, deconstructed silk blouse, hand-felted wool, thread, encaustic
16 x 9 x 4 inches
2022

A Home for Grief

Antique handkerchief, deconstructed blouse, deconstructed silk scarf, buckram, Bells of Ireland, thread, encaustic
7 x 12 x 4 inches
2022

Werifesteria

I practice Werifesteria, an English word used to describe the impulse to wander the forest longingly in search of magic and mystery. The woods are a metaphor for the architecture of human relationships - a place we feel on a sensory level. Making the pieces is like scaffolding experience and memories. From changes in weather, physical maladies, unimaginable joy, and deep loss, we carry on.

Bud

SSari blouse, repurposed dress, pipe cleaners, clips, cotton, netting, cellophane wrappers, wire
50 x 40 x 20 inches
2024

Hum

Wisteria vine, repurposed silk dressing gown, netting, trim, yarn, antique Dupatta trim, moss, encaustic
60 x 55 x 6 inches

Humming is a form of self-soothing.

Hide and Seek

Wisteria vine, faux fur, fabric, chenille, repurposed silk scarf, child's skirt, feathers, encaustic
70 x 60 x 8 inches
2024

Before Innocence

Wisteria vine, repurposed tank top, silk, netting, trim, chenille, nandina stalks, and encaustic
78 x 40 x 10 inches
2023

Frolic

Wisteria vine, fiber, faux flowers, chicken wire
2024

Flit

Wisteria vine, repurposed blouse, netting, tank top fragment, embossed metallic fabric, cotton, chenille, acrylic
90 x 60 x 28 inches
2024

How Luck Falls Our Way

Wisteria vine, pipe cleaners, chenille, tubing, repurposed scarf, Dupata trim, cotton, sage, hair clips
70 x 60 x 23 inches
2024

Reverberations

Wisteria vines, nylon, foil tape, chenille
22 x 24 x 16 inches
2024

Our actions impact.

Little Leaps

Wisteria vine, chenille, fabric, netting, pom pom trim, chicken wire, pipe cleaners, latex, thread
60 x 45 x 8 inches
2024

We make little leaps of progress.

Cicada

Kudzu branches, cotton bed sheets, thread, tank top fragment, chenille, trim, pipe cleaners, netting, thread, acrylic
44 x 18 x 10 inches
2024

Molting

Kudzu branches, repurposed bed sheet, netting, bark, bolts, faux fur, thread, netting, acrylic
28 x 25 x 10 inches
2024

Flutter

Horsehair, thread
9 inches diameter, 3 inches deep
2023

Channel

Horsehair, thread, encaustic
20 x 15 x 4.5 inches
2019

Overdue

Fiber, thread
7 x 7 x 3 inches
2022

Forage

Fiber, thread
7 x 7.5 x 5 inches
2022

Anchor

Fiber, thread
8 x 9 x 3 inches
2022

Perpetual

Fiber, thread
9 x 7 x 3 inches
2022

By Heart

Fiber, thread
7 x 4 x 3 inches
2022

Behold

Fiber, thread
15 x 9 x 5 inches
2022

The Glimmering

Fiber, thread
8.5 x 9 x 5 inches
2022

Head Start

Fiber, thread
11 x 8 x 6 inches
2022

Hurt - Sotto Voce (Private Whisper)

Recently my son discovered an aria that my Mother used to sing when I was younger. They live far apart yet share a passion for music. The centerpiece is a slow-motion duet: a video of my son playing cello projected onto a pink tulle scrim, overlaid with the sound of my Mother's voice, singing Musetta's Waltz from Puccini’s La Boheme.

The pink forms are sewn “casts” of my son's arms - pink, as he is born of my skin - made from horsehair, which also is used for making cello bows. Two garments devoid of color are a hospital gown, from where my Mother now lives in a nursing home, and a chapel veil of hers, tendering acceptance.

Finally, a pair of ghostly frames suggest a presence through absence, and contain a bodily weight in the folds – as masks, armor, or encasement – wrapped and holding identity between generations… an installation about embodied familial complexity.

Channel

Horsehair, thread, encaustic
20 x 15 x 4.5 inches
2019

Mirror, mirror

Frames, cloth
25 x 23 x 3.5 inches
2019

Duet

Video, audio, tulle
218 x 48 inches
2019

Albatross (left ) and Ascension (right)

Albatross
Gown, latex
50 x 16 x 4 inches
2019

Ascension
Cloth, latex
32 x 7 x 3 inches
2019

Exquisite Corpse

Anthropomorphic in nature, these works are inspired by barn owls. Tracking impulse and movement, I reflect upon trajectories and possibilities of haptic migrations. The animal body is palpable: skin, bones, fur, nerves, tendons, joints, organs, tissues. Wings possess an earthly weight, and the capacity of immaterial phenomenon: fragile, yet enduring. Self-protective, and capable they soar; imperfect, still fly.

Sisters, Not Twins

Mixed media installation
82 x 144 x 32 inches
2018

Sisters, Not Twins (left panel)

Sisters, Not Twins (right panel)

installation view of my work with piece by Francesca Schwartz

2018

Feeding - SOLD

Fiber, paper, thread, encaustic
15 x 9 x 4 inches
2018

Shelter

Fiber, encaustic
20 x 29 x 4 inches
2018

Carrier (wide angle)

Carrier (detail)

Carrier

Mixed Media
16 x 48 x 12 inches
2018

Guardian

Mixed Media
36 x 32 x 8 inches
2018

Poised II

Mixed Media
40 x 17 x 4 inches
2020

Persist

Fiber, Paper, moss, encaustic
9.5 x 4 x 2 inches
2018

Necessities

Mixed Media
21 x 15 x 12 inches
2018

Tracking

Mixed Media
14.5 x 6 x 5 inches
2018

The Domestic

During a pandemic, we respond by falling apart … then finding what grounds us: nesting, tending to domestic matters, and weighing in on our relationships.

Untethered

Fiber, paper, encaustic
26 x 11 x 3 inches
2020

Begin Again

Fiber, paper, encaustic
18 X 8 X 3 inches
2021

Nest - SOLD

Foam, silk, hair, wire, netting, string, encaustic
19 x 27 x 7 inches
2020

Melting

Dried marigolds, faux flowers, fabric, acrylic, latex
8 x 6 x 2.5 inches
2020

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Fiber, paper, encaustic
11 x 5 x 4 inches
2021

Adapt

Paper, wire, fiber, encaustic, R&F pigment sticks
25 x 14 x 5 inches
2020

Tomorrow

Fiber, paper, encaustic
22 x 7 x 3 inches
2021

Frozen Gesture

Inspired by the ‘frozen gesture’ of Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa, the dress serves as a surrogate for the body. Projected images of the female form undulate over fabric folds, merging spirit and the flesh to reclaim what is female.

Torso of St. Teresa
Fiber, hand-sewn
Dimensions variable

experimenting with a swooning St. Teresa, thinking about her body as between Heaven and Earth

SWOON

Fiber, projections on wall
Dimensions variable
2019

A St. Teresa repositioned by unexpected gravity

Shadow Portrait

Digital photograph projections with a fiber St. Teresa as part of Swoon installation

Stamp made of original St. Teresa head by Bernini

Swoon

Side view

Folded

Based on the concept of folding into oneself, wall-mounted structures that suggest the push/pull I feel between being a parent and being a daughter.

The Pull

mixed media installation
88 x 172 x 8 inches
2018

Within this wall piece are garments I have worn, literally ‘wearing’ the role of mother and daughter, as my body is in a gravitational pull in two directions. I am drawn in by a mother who needs care and a son who needs a mother, not yet a man. It’s a dance between two ends of the spectrum, and I can’t give up either.

Dervish

Mixed media installation
108 x 108 x 8 inches
2018

There is a sense of play within this piece, but gravity as well. I have assembled overlapping layers of fabric, some which I’ve manipulated with paint on the surface. Others are garments I have worn to create a structure of celebration, including a salwar kameez, worn as the wife of an East Indian and mother to a half-Indian son – the history of toy animals to the great feminine divine – encompassing the dance between mothers and sons, whirling, as if to transcend the body:

This is the day
Whirl around your love
Nothing is amiss
Whirl
After all
No one can blame
The friends of heart for this

--From the Sufi poet Rumi

The Seams
Mixed media installation
80 x 66 x 4 inches
2018

I’m really talking about where things are hanging together by a thread, or being ripped apart — a self-portrait, feeling split.

14from Folded Residency at M. David & Co., Brooklyn.jpg

full image of group show

Due belle voci

Due Belle Voci translates from Italian to Two Beautiful Voices. At a time when we are politically divided and physically separated, these works are about the sustaining core connections we find in relationship.

Addressed are ideas concerning Covid-19’s impact, the political moment, genesis, passing, and eternal cycles of the fragile ties between the natural world and human life.

Albatross

Hospital gown, latex, wire
50 x 16 x 4 inches
2019

The Fragile Flesh

Hydrangea petals, antique hat pin, beads, thread, fiber, acrylic
7.5 x 3.5 x 1 inches
2020

Tending - SOLD

Fiber, paper, clay, ink, mattress ticking, shoebox liners, encaustic, R&F Paint Sticks
36 x 36 x 2.5 inches
2020

Collapse

Crackers, chicken wire, faux flowers, fabric, latex, encaustic
21 x 13 x 5 inches
2020

Crown of Glory

Paper, encaustic, tulle
72 x 7 x 2 inches
2020

Lifeline

Dried hydrangea petals, acrylic, fabric, sound recordings of mother's voicemails
2 x 7 x 6 inches
2020

Detail, Fly Away Home - SOLD

Thorns, branches, paper, faux flowers, Foss, gold leaf, fabric, moss, encaustic

36 x 36 x 2.5 inches

2020

Fly Away Home (Detail) - SOLD

Thorns, branches, paper, faux flowers, Foss, gold leaf, fabric, moss, encaustic
36 x 36 x 2.5 inches
2020

Fly Away Home - SOLD

Thorns, branches, paper, faux flowers, Foss, gold leaf, fabric, moss, encaustic
36 x 36 x 2.5 inches
2020

Bliss

Digital print on organza silk, netting, Japanese fabric, repurposed sari cloth
93 x 40 x 6 inches
2020

What Binds Us

Digital print on silk, digital print on polyester, digital print on blanket, silk and polyester fabric
93 x 40 x 6 inches
2020

Sisters, Not Twins

Fabric, paper, wire, faux fur, thread, moss, encaustic
82 x 144 x 32 inches
2018

Guardian

Fabric, wire
36 x 32 x 8 inches
2018

Liminal

Clay, watercolor, encaustic
10.5 x 9 x 1 inches
2020

Soft Tissue

Clay, encaustic
28 x 14 x 3 inches
2017

Persist

Fiber, Paper, moss, ink, encaustic

8 x 4 x 2 inches
2018

Lotus Heart (left) and Gardens (right)

Clay, acrylic, faux flowers, moss, encaustic, latex, frame
5 inches in diameter, 1 inch high
2020

Clay, paper, moss, encaustic, latex, frame
10 x 8 x 1 3/4 inches
2020

Pillar That Once Was

Encaustic transfer
16 x 11 x 1 inches
2020

Safeguard

Digital print on kozo, fabric, encaustic
11 x 8.5 inches
2020

Duet

Video, audio, tulle
218 x 48 inches
2019

Bouquet

Faux flowers, dried violets, acrylic, latex
7 x 5.5 x 2.5 inches
2020

Heartstrings

Paper, string, acrylic, R&F oil paintstick
4.5 x 5 x 3.5 inches
2020

Luxury & Restraint

Fur collar, hydrangea petals, encaustic, jewelry stand, syroco shelf
23 x 12 x 6 inches
2017

My Guardian Angels - SOLD

(left) Paper, ink, fiber, thread, encaustic
13 x 9 x 4 inches

(right) Tulle, faux coral, latex, metallic thread
12 x 10 x 2 inches
2020

Folding Time

Clay, spray enamel, oil pastel
11 x 13 x 7 inches
2017

Tick Tock

Paper, R&F oil paint stick, mica flakes, encaustic
10 x 8 x 2 inches (each panel)
2020

Passage

Lenticular print (multiple images)
5 x 5 x 1 inches
2020

Passage (installed view)

Lenticular print
5 x 5 x 1 inches
2020

Walkthrough of Due Belle Voci, ArtXchange Gallery, August 7, 2020

Incarnate

As my work has become more dimensional, I’m increasingly interested in manifesting sensual surfaces to articulate forms that reference the spaces the body inhabits.. These are a few recent examples.

Underbelly

Cotton, webbing, deconstructed dress, netting, seam binding, encaustic
25 x 29 x 16 inches
2019

Eternity's Gate

Fiber, thread, encaustic
24 x 15 x 4 inches
2020

Luscious

Polyester, deconstructed ruffles, webbing, cotton knit, netting, latex, encaustic
48 x 22 x 6 inches
2019

Landscape

Silk, deconstructed ruffles, cording, encaustic
34 x 34 x 7 inches
2019

Lush

Silk, netting, cotton knit, fiber-covered wire, encaustic
50 x 23 x 6 inches
2019

Slash and Burn Miniatures

Transparent, raw colorations of skin and bandages are punctuated by red artery-like markings within organic compositions. Encaustic and cold wax conjure bodily associations to salves, makeup, preservatives for food, and cellular biology with their flesh-like luminosity. “She” titles act ultimately as messages of support, transition and ultimate renewal.

Inspired by the natural landscape as a metaphor for the body, my imagery references the ‘slash and burn’ agricultural method -- cutting and burning vegetation off a plot of land to regenerate the earth.

The Nutrients Formed Her New Body

Paper, cold wax, encaustic monotypes on wood
6 x 6 x .25 inches
2018

These Were the Countless Moments for Renewal

Paper, cording, cold wax, encaustic
6 x 6 inches
2018

Rebuilding was the Promise She Made to Herself

Paper, fiber, encaustic monotypes on wood
6 x 3 x .25 inches
2018

She Took Pleasure in Her Resurrection

Paper, cording, cold wax, encaustic
6 x 6 inches
2018

It Was Fresh New Land She Dreamed About

Paper, cording, cold wax, encaustic
6 x 6 inches
2018

The Flesh Delighted in New Promise

Paper, encaustic monotypes on wood
8 x 5 x .5 inches
2018

She Had to Let Go to Grow

Paper, fiber, encaustic, cording
4 x 6 inches
2018

Her Restoration Materialized Slowly

Paper, fiber, encaustic, cording
4 x 6 inches
2018

It was Felt on a Cellular Level

Paper, cold wax, encaustic monotypes on wood
6 x 8.5 x .5 inches
2018

The Necessary Fires Made It Happen

Paper, fiber, encaustic, cording
6 x 6 inches
2018

Her Lifeline

Paper, fiber, encaustic
10 x 7 x 1 inches
2018

While It Hurt She Felt Replenished

Paper, fiber, encaustic, cording
6 x 6 inches
2018

She Found Her Direction

Fiber, encaustic
6 x 6 inches
2018

She Was Ready to Move On

Paper, fiber, encaustic
8.5 x 6 x 1 inches
2018

Her Cellular Proliferation Ensued

Paper, encaustic monotypes on wood
8.5 x 7 x .5 inches
2018

Clearing Out Meant She Had Moved On

Paper, fiber, encaustic, cording
4 x 6 inches
2018

She Needed A Transition

Fiber, encaustic
8.5 x 9.5 x 1 inches
2018

She Had to Choose Which Path to Follow

Fiber, encaustic
6 x 6 inches
2018

She Felt Her Ancestors Rising Up

Paper, fiber, encaustic monotypes on wood
6 x 5 x .25 inches
2018

She Was Able to Find Safe Havens

Fiber, encaustic
6 x 6 inches
2018

She Felt It In Her Flesh and Bones

Paper, fiber, encaustic monotypes on wood
6.5 x 5 x .25 inches
2018

Triage

Surrounded by news of a pandemic, wildfires ablaze, climate change, and the loss of George Floyd & RGB, I am finding ways to move forward.

Warrior - SOLD

12 x 5 x 1 inches
Fiber, Foss, wire, tassels and encaustic
2020

Finding Equlibrium - SOLD

Paper, ink, washers, encaustic
5 x 5 x 1 inches
2020

Flesh and Bone

FossShape, wire, encaustic
7 x 5 x 4 inches
2020

Home Front - SOLD

Deconstructed blouse, mattress ticking, wire, encaustic
10 x 5 x 1 inches
2020

Ancestors

Fiber, tar paper, encaustic
5 x 3.5 x 2 inches
2020

Garden - SOLD

Paper, Bells of Ireland, encaustic
9 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches
2020

Remnant - SOLD

Paper, dyed wool, foam, faux coral, encaustic
10 x 6 x 3 inches
2020

History - SOLD

Fiber, paper, encaustic
6.5 x 5 x 2 inches
2020

Vestige - SOLD

Paper, faux greenery, encaustic
7 x 7 x 3 inches
2020

Silver Linings - SOLD

Cardboard, fiber, ink, acrylic, ecaustic
12 x 3.5 x 2 inches
2020

Carry On - SOLD

Ppaper, sponge, burned bits, acrylic, rusted hardware, encaustic
7 x 4 x 1 inches
2020

Slash and Burn

Inspired by the natural landscape as a metaphor for the body, my imagery references the ‘slash and burn’ agricultural method – cutting and burning vegetation off a plot of land to regenerate the earth. Transparent, raw colorations of skin and bandages are punctuated by red arterylike cordoning within organic compositions. Encaustic and cold wax conjure bodily associations to salves, makeup, preservatives for food that feed the body, and cellular biology with their flesh-like luminosity. Growth is a physiological gesture, an expression of a visceral and cellular self.

Residual

Paper, encaustic
16 x 12 x 2 inches
2021

Grief Diary 1 - SOLD

Burned paper, cording, fiber, encaustic
12 x 12 x 1 inches
2021

Mending Matters 2

Fiber, thread, encaustic
14 x 11 x 1 inches
2022

Mending Matters

Fiber, cording, paper, encaustic
14 x 11 x 1 inches
2022

Grief Diary 2 - SOLD

Burned paper, cording, fiber, encaustic
12 x 12 x 1 inches
2021

Recovery
Paper, fiber, encaustic
12 x 6 x 3 inches
2018

She Started Over

Paper, fiber, encaustic
11 x 3 x 1 inches
2018

Scar Tissue

Paper, fiber, encaustic
16 x 12 x 2 inches
2021

Peripheral Damage

Paper, encaustic
16 x 12 x 2 inches
2021

Pain Threshold

Paper, fiber, encaustic
16 x 12 x 2 inches
2021

Bloodlines

Wood, encaustic monotypes on paper
20 x 7 x 3 inches
2021

Written on the Body

Paper, wood, encaustic monotypes on paper
60 x 72 x 4 inches
2021

Written on the Body Detail

Paper, wood, encaustic monotypes on paper
60 x 72 inches
2021

Sites of Transformation

Paper, wood, encaustic
11 inches in diameter
2015

It Meant a New Life

Paper, fiber, encaustic monotypes on wood
6 x 5 x .25 inches
2018

Inside Out

Fiber, encaustic
19 x 11 x 2.5 inches
2019

Into the Pink

In this contemporary Cabinet of Curiosities, I address themes of containment vs. freedom and feminine persistence. I borrow and subvert the vanitas painting genre using pink vignettes that reclaim and revel in feminine matter. With temporal phenomena such as eggs, leaves, petals, skins, cork, fruit, insects, animals, clay, lace, hair and fur, I reify the sensuous and the corporeal. In my tableaus, I reaffirm our need for beauty in a troubled world, offering respite, however precarious.

Perfect Imperfect - SOLD

Clay, encaustic
14 x 14 x 10 inches
2017

Matrix (center panel)

Encaustic and mixed media
34 x 23 x 1 inches
2017

Installation view, Suzanne Zahr Gallery

a Cabinet of Curiosities

Matrix

Encaustic and mixed media
80 x 80 x 3 inches
2017

Before Abscission - SOLD

Mixed Media
17 x 15 inches
2017

Bloom

Paper, found collar, encaustic
12.5 x 13.5 x 8 inches
2017

Liminal

Clay, watercolor, encaustic
10.5 x 9 x 1 inches
2017

Sample - SOLD

Found objects, encaustic
18 x 20 x 4 inches
2017

Preservation

Fiber, encaustic
5 x 7 x 7 inches
2017

Specimens

Clay, encaustic
14 x 8 x 3/8 inches
2017

Ancestry

Horseshoe crab, encaustic
18 x 9 x 3 inches
2017

Cartouche

Clay, encaustic
6.5 x 3 x 1 inches
2017

Protection - SOLD

Wood, paper, encaustic
10 x 7 inches
2017

Deep Structures - SOLD

Fiber, encaustic
10.5 x 10.5 x 1.25 inches
2017

Self Defense

Fiber, paper, encaustic
10.5 X 9 X 3 inches
2017

Catalog - SOLD

Wood, soap, encaustic
6.5 x 12 x 2 inches
2017

Accumulations - SOLD

Cookies, encaustic
7 X 7 X 7 inches
2017

Acquisitions and Memory (detail)

Paper, brads, housing, encaustic
14 X 17.5 X 8.5 inches
2017

Measuring Beauty

Glass tubes, metal case, fabric flowers, encaustic
14 x 11 x 12 inches
2017

Crest

Clay, encaustic
14 x 7 x 3 inches
2017

Flight

Clay, fiber, paper, encaustic
14.5 x 17 x 3 inches
2017

Garden of Desires - SOLD

Encaustic and mixed media
50 x 16 x 1 inches
2017

Migrations

Fiber collage layered over encaustic monotype with antique frame
59 x 32 x 3 inches
2017

collective

Clay, fossil, encaustic, box
18 x 12 x 3 inches
2017

Shield

Fiber, paper, encaustic
10.5 x 9 x 3 inches
2017

Hygiene

wood, soap, encaustic
7 x 18 x 2 inches
2017

Into the Pink Installation at Suzanne Zahr Gallery, May 2017

THE GORGEOUS NOTHINGS

The opened shape of the envelope recalls iconographic associations like the span of birds’ wings, the cross, and other articles of outreach or containment.

This collaborative series with artist Molly Geissman is inspired by the 2013 book The Gorgeous Nothings - by Jen Bervin and Marta L. Werner, Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems - literally “envelope writings” that are drafts of poems. In The Gorgeous Nothings are facsimile images of fragmented envelope shapes, where Emily has written starts of poems. The visual impact of her handwriting on these poetic shapes inspired our project.

This work bridges the past with the digital era, tracing communication methods to the present. We sent the pieces back and forth in the mail, each adding a successive layer, until complete.

Emily

Mixed Media
13 x 11 inches
2015

Systems

Mixed Media
13 x 11 inches
2015

Efolding

Mixed Media
11 x 13 inches
2015

Phasing Out

Mixed Media
12 x 12 inches
2015

Ceremony

Mixed Media
11 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches
2015

Kamasutra

Mixed Media
13 x 11 inches
2015

Codex

Mixed Media
11 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches
2015

Pay No Charges

Mixed Media
13 x 11 inches
2015

Even Though

Mixed Media
13 x 11 inches
2015

Is An Artist

Mixed Media
12 x 12 inches
2015

Loss of Containment

Fiber, wire, encaustic
37 x 6 x 2 inches
2015

Unsent

Fiber, paper, ink, encaustic
8 x 8 x 1 inches
2015

GINGKO STORIES

I am fascinated by the potential of text as form when it becomes non-referential, beyond the specificity and context of recognizable letters. What emotion is elicited from illegibility? How does language convey experience?

Gingko Stories (detail)

Paper, copper leaf, encaustic
30 x 36 x 1 inches
2013

Gingko Stories

Paper, copper leaf, encaustic
30 x 36 x 1 inches
2013

Gingko Stories (detail)

Paper, copper leaf, encaustic
30 x 36 x 1 inches
2013

Mantra (Two)

Encaustic, wood-burned text on wood panel
12 x 6 x 1 inches
2007

Mantra (Halves)

Encaustic, wood-burned text on wood panel
12 x 6 x 1 inches
2007

Mantra (Directions)

Encaustic, wood-burned text on wood panels
12 x 6 x 1 inches
2007

Skin

Skin reflects the constant flux of states of being. It is both opaque and transparent, a barrier and a passageway. Skin breathes, stretches, is human, animal. We feel emotion through the membrane. We are contained, flexible, different, and the same.

What is Easily Dissolved (Sarira)

Video projection of cremation onto sari cloth
size variable
2012

What is Easily Dissolved (alternate view)

Video projection of cremation onto sari cloth
size variable
2012

Sense Base (Ayatana) Detail - SOLD

Clementine peels, thread, foam, encaustic
various sizes
2012

Sense Base (Ayatana) - SOLD

Clementine peels, thread, foam, encaustic
72 x 82 x 3 inches
2012

Bloodmilk

Sculptamold, wire, thread, book pages, onion skin, lace, saral transfer, string, dryer sheets, encaustic
38 x 12 x 7 inches
2012

Sacred Mother Cow (Gau Mata) Detail

Cow tongues, string, encaustic
sizes variable
2012

Sacred Mother Cow (Gau Mata)

Cow tongues, string, encaustic, accompanying text
sizes variable
2012

Cosmic Consciousness (Mahat)

Paper, Encaustic
16 inches in diameter
2012

My Body, My Home Detail

Paper, graphite, ink, encaustic
sizes variable
2012

My Body, My Home

Paper, graphite, ink, encaustic
48 inches in diameter
2012

Khajuraho

I construct substrates to reference the movement of human form and language, incorporating images from the erotic temples of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Subtle Body (Puryastaka) - SOLD

Photo transfer, paper, encaustic
7 x 1.25 x 2 inches
2010

Action (Kriya) - SOLD

Photo transfer, paper, thread, encaustic
4 x 3 x 4 inches
2010

Innate Essential Nature (Sahaja) - SOLD

Photo transfer, paper, snaps, encaustic
6 x 4 x 3 inches
2010

Enjoyment of the Senses (Bhoga)

Photo transfer, paper, encaustic
3 x 3 x 3 inches
2010

Physical Desire (Kama)

Photo transfer, paper, snaps, encaustic
19 x 4 x 3 inches
2010

Expansion (Vikasa)

Photo transfer, paper, cork, bands, screws, encaustic
13 x 1.5 x 4 inches
2015

Arise (Udaya)

Photo transfer, paper, bands, screws, encaustic
13.5 x 1.5 x 3 inches
2015

Immersion (Avesa)

Photo transfer, paper, bands, screws, encaustic
19 x 1.5 x 2.5 inches
2015

Organ of Sense (Indriya)

Photo transfer, paper, nuts and bolts, encaustic
52 x 2 x 8 inches
2011

Power Zone (Kamrup)

Photo transfer, paper, encaustic
1.5 x 5 x 4 inches
2010

Cloud Messengers

Our experience of natural elements offers opportunity for greater awareness of the interrelationships between nature, the body and technology. Cloud formations in particular have revealing microclimates, ripe with metaphor for conceptual and formal issues related to states of presence and absence. Clouds convert vapor into rain, while cloud storage provides repositories of information for digital networks. Both natural and human-made versions are containers of potential conversion. My creation of skyscapes is an effort to visualize what is essentially intangible.

The origin is inspired by Kalidasa's poem Meghaduta, about how a separated couple in Central India convince a passing cloud to deliver communications between them. These works are imagined slices of sky we see along the way.

Cloud Veil (Rakhana) (5 panels)

Paper, wire, encaustic
12 x 21.5 x 3 inches
2009

Cloud Curtain I (Rakhaila)

Fiber, encaustic
10 x 19 x 1 inches
2009

Scented with Flowers

Encaustic monotype on superfine eggshell
32 x 20 inches
2013

Cloud Messenger 7 (four blue circles top)

Encaustic monotype collage on wood panel
12 x 6 x 1 inches
2013

Cloud Curtain installation

"Home" exhibit
ArtXchange Gallery
2014

O Cloud - For All This Empty is Light

Encaustic monotype on superfine eggshell
32 x 20 inches
2013

Skyholes

Fabric, wire, encaustic
15 x 30 x 5 inches
2014

Falling to Earth

Encaustic monotype on superfine eggshell
32 x 20 inches
2013

Cloud Fragment (Nirad Ansh)

Fabric, wire, encaustic
10 x 12 x 1 inches (each panel)
2013

Cloud Fragment (Nirad Ansh)

3 views

Cloud Messenger 10 (blue grid faint)

Encaustic monotype collage on wood panel
12 x 6 x 1 inches
2013

Cumulonimbus

Fabric, wire, encaustic
15 x 10 x 5 inches
2014

Carried by the Whisper of the Cloud

Encaustic monotype on superfine eggshell
32 x 20 inches
2013

Net Cloud

Fabric, wire, encaustic
19 x 17 x 5 inches
2014

Beautiful Piece of Heaven

Encaustic monotype on superfine eggshell
32 x 20 inches
2013

Cirrus Horizon

Fabric, wire, encaustic
34 x 78 x 3 inches
2014

Her Cloud

Fabric, encaustic
10 x 22 x 1 inches
2015

His Cloud

Fabric, encaustic
10 x 14 x 8 inches
2015

Breath

The Sanskrit word prana translates to breath, and in Vedantic philosophy, is the notion of a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy. Travels through India have become the sensorial landscape from which my work and investigations into Indian philosophy emerge. Dualistic abstractions of presence and absence, spirit and matter, and fullness and emptiness are poised in a series of conceptual and formal relationships.

Inner Souls (Antaraatma) - SOLD

Paper, thread, encaustic
21 x 35 x 1 inches
2007

Sound, Word - Space, Sky (Shabda-Viyat) - SOLD

paper, ink, encaustic on panel
12 x 18 x 1 inches
2009

Cloud Fragments

Fiber, encaustic
Size variable
2015

O Cloud for all this Empty is Light

Encaustic Monotype
Paper, encaustic
30 x 22 inches
2015
from Meghaduta poem

Beautiful Piece of Heaven

Encaustic Monotype
30 x 22 inches
2015
from Meghaduta poem

Rakhana (Cloud Curtain)

multiple panels
paper, wire, encaustic
size variable
2009

Cloud Curtain (Rahkaila) II - SOLD

Fiber, encaustic
available in multiple dimension formats
2015

Gayatri Mantra Installed

(circular prints at left)
digital prints on kozo paper, encaustic
artXchange Gallery, Seattle
Satellite show during Seattle Art Fair
2015

Prayer Beads, Cyclical Time (Mala) - SOLD

Paper, ink, brads, encaustic
36 x 24 inches in diameter
2009

Sound, Dreamless Sleep (Susupti)

Cotton pads, thread, mirror tile from deconstructed Indian handbags, tassels, encaustic
27.5 x 28.5 inches
2009

Additional Installation Images

Due Belle Voci view 2

at ArtXchange Gallery, Seattle
August 2020

Installation view 1 of Due Belle Voci

at ArtXchange Gallery, Seattle
August 2020

Into the Pink, Suzanne Zahr Gallery

Panoramic Installation view
2017

Embodiment, Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, solo exhibit

Written on the Body (detail) installation
Encaustic monotypes on paper mounted to wood
8 x 8 feet
2016

SKIN, ArtXchange Gallery, solo exhibit

Remembering (Smarana) installation
2012
Spheres commemorate associative palpable memories of the flesh.

Detail, Samghatta

Union (Samghatta) installation

Encaustic Photo Transfer on Veneer Rings with Bolts, 2012
Using images from the erotic temples in Khajuraho, India, this work references the story of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti in the dance of divine polarities to interpenetrate, honor and glorify each other.

Khajuraho installation

2012

What is Easily Dissolved (Sarira) installation

Video projection onto sari cloth
2012

Hindus cremate their dead, believing that the burning of a dead body signifies the release of the spirit and the flames represent Brahma, the creator. Hindus believe in reincarnation and view death as the soul moving from one body to the next on its path to reach Nirvana, heaven.

Sacred Mother Cow (Gau Mata) installation

Cow tongues, encaustic
2012
In many cultures the cow represents fertility, nurturing and power. Ancient Indian texts provide copious references to the killing of the cow for sacrifice and sustenance, as the cow has become a political instrument in the hands of rules over time. In contemporary America, specifically Texas Longhorn 'producers' have strived to crossbreed for the consumer who is demanding a leaner, highly trimmed, but palatable portion of beef. The cow continues to be a symbol of consumption and economies worldwide.

Text related to eating accompanies the Gau Mata installation.

Cloud Messengers installation

Piper Thornburgh Law Offices
Bainbridge Island, WA
2015

Sense Base (Ayatana) installation

Satsuma peels, encaustic, thread
mounted to support panels
2012

In Buddhism, there are six internal/external sense bases: eye and visible objects, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and touch, and mind and mental objects. The “gateway” formation articulates the passageway into the internal sense base.

Cirrus Horizon installation

Piper Thornburgh Law Offices
Bainbridge Island, WA
2015

Remembering (Smarana) series installation

Piper Thornburgh Law Offices Library
Bainbridge Island, WA
2015