Visual Art – Philadelphia
I have been an artist my whole life; some of my earliest memories are of drawing and painting and making things. Art school was not a great experience for me, however, since I found it very constraining. After graduating, I became interested in self-taught artists, and I began experimenting on my own with different media. I tried to forget what I had been told in art school and instead to focus on what was in my head and heart. Recently, after being inundated with violent stories in the news, particularly stories about the brutalization of women, children and the LGBT community, I started creating art work that would provide a face to those who are faceless, nameless and powerless. Much of my work consists of batiks which are textiles created by dying over a wax resist; the areas that are waxed do not take the dye. Finally, the wax is removed, leaving a work of art with multiple layers of color. I then hand embroider each work to accentuate certain parts. I also work in watercolor because I like the spontaneous, immediate nature of the process. Unlike batik, which can take days or weeks to complete, a watercolor painting can be done in a matter of minutes.