Searching for Truth with a Needle
Whenever I pick up a needle I can’t help thinking of women’s history and work, and perspectives on necessity and sacrifice. We have been creative in small spaces, without much time, most often out of the public eye. We collected scraps for repurposing, turning debris into quilts, turning leftovers into nourishing meals. Daughters were taught essential skills, among them stitch work, evidenced by samplers as a form of exit exam. I was raised with the old skills instilled as though my life would depend on them. I hand sewed, hemmed, embroidered, knitted, wove, beaded, quilted, foraged berries and wild apples, perfected white sauces, piecrusts. I repaired small household appliances, mowed the lawn, dusted the sills. I see this interwoven in my art: deliberately drawing on women’s words and work, particularly through the lens of the feminine archetype. This further manifests in my intuitive and responsive approach to process and materials, and in the end results, which frequently compels a contemplative observing.
In my work the exploration is equally about seeing and not seeing. Looking at something very closely is both a necessity and the result of my process that includes piercing, punching, threading, knotting and weaving through paper. Looking so closely that the thing itself disappears metaphorically, and on a certain level, quite literally.
Born: Levittown, PA
Education: Art Students League, Pratt University, Empire State College.
BA, Psychology
Solo Exhibitions
2016 Courthouse Gallery, Lake George, NY
2015 Between Two Walls, North Main Gallery, Salem NY
2005 Bones of the River, Small Gallery, Cambridge, NY
2002 Palm of the Hand Thing, Small Gallery, Cambridge, NY
Group Exhibitions
2015 The Blue Show, Spring Street Gallery, Saratoga Springs NY
2006 Chapel and Cultural Center at Rensselaer, Troy, NY
2004 Egg, Small Gallery, Cambridge, NY
1993 Art Student’s League, NY
1992 Los Angeles Women’s Center, CA
1992 Sotheby’s summer exhibition, NY, NY
1992 She Said, He Said, Women Speak through Art, National Council of Jewish Woman/ Women’s Fund of Rochester, NY
1991 Sotheby’s summer exhibition, NY