There is a certain place and time in my life that I revisit when I paint, delving into the conflicting and sometimes painful aspects of childhood. I use my paintings literally to wrestle with the past. I incorporate fragments of things remembered, the tile in my elementary school, the color of my grandmother’s kitchen, text from nursery rhymes and stories, to trigger a link with the past. Diagrams, wallpaper patterns and animal forms are more easily identified, while the surface they embellish may not be, generating layers that are clear and oblique. The combination of these two elements, the obvious and the obscured, charge the paintings with contradictions, forcing the viewer to investigate what is hidden and what is revealed.
The paintings often begin as layers created in plaster on canvas, providing a surface to etch into. Through this layering, the imagery, symbols and decorative patterns begin to meld on the surface, at times obscuring the narrative quality of the piece. By juxtaposing abstract passages with various symbols and personal iconography, I force the issue of the disparity between one’s expectations and the reality of the past. I reflect on the past to understand the present. The patterning in these images refer to the decorative, outer appearance of the homes they come from. Imagery and method of application refer to the emotional undercurrent that infects each home.

EDUCATION

1999 MFA, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
1993 BA, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2005
David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN
Grubbs Gallery, The Williston Northampton School, Easthampton, MA

2003
David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN

2002
Albers Art, Memphis, TN
Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN

2001
Albers Art, Memphis, TN

2000
Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN

1999
Albers Fine Art Gallery, Memphis, TN
Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
Marshall Arts, Memphis, TN

1998
Clough Hanson Gallery, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN

1997
Memphis Arts Festival, Memphis, TN
Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN
Playhouse on the Square, Memphis, TN

1996
Plan B Gallery, Memphis, TN

1993
Clough Hanson Gallery, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Memphis Business Journal
Number
The Commercial Appeal
RSVP Magazine
Dateline Memphis
The Memphis Flyer