Art is rendering visible the invisible.
— Paul Klee
 

Artist's Statement

I was born and grew up in Chicago, which partly explains why I relish a certain grittiness and no-nonsense approach to life. However, living in Japan for seven years, and especially studying calligraphy, also had a profound influence on me.

I love to combine the elegance of East Asian brush writing with unconventional mark-making inspired by the stuff of everyday life: from kitchen junk found in thrift shops to weeds gathered on morning walks in the woods.

A few years ago, I began doing monoprints. A monoprint is as unique as a painting. But rather than working directly on canvas or paper, it is created by transferring inks from a plastic or glass surface with the help of an etching press or hand tool. Sometimes, in addition, I will paint or draw on my work after it's been through the press several times.

The delicate strength of Japanese paper and the velvet embrace of European paper give me rich, vibrant layers of texture. The monoprint process is a kind of metaphor for life: Sometimes something may be achieved on the initial try. More often satisfaction comes only after struggle. In the translucency of a monoprint you can see all the layers of that journey.

Before making art my full-time endeavor in 2003, I worked for more than 35 years as a journalist in Chicago, Tokyo, Seattle and Silicon Valley.