Emerge: The Journey is Everything

For me, the journey is everything.  I am far more interested in the process of becoming than I am in the final state of being.  The journey is dynamic, energetic – constantly evolving, transforming and expanding.  While creating, I exist in a suspended state of not-knowing.  I open myself up to what my painting is showing me, and then intuitively respond to it. This dialogue of discovery is what I crave.

As a self-taught artist and creative storyteller, I am constantly reinventing myself, learning whatever medium it takes to tell the story that is emerging.  Over the past 40 years, I have used writing, music, photography, film, storytelling, and now encaustics to explore my personal/family narrative.

The paintings in this show hang together loosely.  They demonstrate new directions I am exploring in my work (using mark-making, texture, and organic materials to tell a story.)  Some of these pieces came into being fully-formed.  Some were labors of love, with 2-3 completely different paintings living beneath the surface.  And still others have yet to find their final form.

While I am in love with the current incarnation of these paintings, I know some will be radically transformed when they return to my studio – melted, scraped down, carved into, painted over.  But as a lover of process, I believe that even our evolving selves deserve an occasional spotlight…to be seen, witnessed and lovingly considered in our current form.

The EMERGE show at the Columbia City Gallery (Seattle) is currently exhibiting through Sunday, May 13. 

The most consistent comment I’m hearing about this body of work is that these are pieces that need to be seen live and up close.  So if you’re in the Columbia City neighborhood, please stop by!  (Gallery hours: Wed-Sun, 11-7).