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"Myths hook and bind the mind because at the same time they set the mind free: they explain the universe while allowing the universe to go on being unexplained." –Jeanette Winterson
I was born in New Hampshire in 1970 and spent my childhood in Massachusetts, Mexico City and Toronto, as well as many summers in Denmark with my mother’s family. In 1992 I graduated from Tufts University in Medford, MA with a BA in Classical Humanities. After discovering printmaking at Mesa Community College in San Diego, I received a BFA in Printmaking from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR in 1997.
My upbringing abroad, my love for books of all kinds and an active imagination have all contributed to the imagery and the themes that I use in my work. In Mexico, I was introduced to Aztec mythology and the narrative murals of Rivera and Orozco. There I gained an early appreciation for the power and universality of archetype and symbolism. I also spent all my lunchtimes in the school library, reading. In Northern Denmark the sand dunes, ancient churchyards and wind- gnarled woodlands made the stories that I read by Grimm and H.C. Andersen seem truly possible.
I combine these mythological and literary images with events from my everyday life, exploring the conflict that I feel between domestic life and it's responsibilities, and my wilder impulses. My use of woodblock heightens the physicality, as well as the illustrative nature of my work. The strong graphic quality of woodblock, when combined with the expressiveness and looseness of my drawing, creates a tension and emotional intensity I don’t find in other mediums and allows me to create intricately detailed, colorful and intensely narrative pieces.
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