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.

My work is fueled by beauty (as in the elegance of Asian brush writing and the happenstance grace of nature); large and small horrors (as in human suffering unleashed by political upheaval or personal turmoil); delight (as in playfulness and the lusciousness of color); ideas (mine and others who've nourished my view of the world). The monotype technique enables me to incorporate all the disparate elements that appeal to me, including words and images from the daily newspaper.

A monotype is as unique as a painting. Rather than work directly on canvas or paper, I use oil-based inks to create an image on a smooth piece of Plexiglas. I then transfer the image from the Plexiglas to paper, using an etching press. Sometimes I paint or draw on the artwork, after it's been through the press several times. I also like to add chine colle' — a technique that uses the press to collage delicate paper onto the artwork. In that way, I can add calligraphy or drawings made with my calligraphy brushes.

I love the layered translucency of the monotype because it can quietly reveal complexity, or can camouflage a tough 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.