Biography
I use watercolor on paper to depict quiet situations that subtly suggest the wonder, horror, and humor I notice in daily American life. I am interested in how we make meaning out of disasters, both personal and public, and how we reconcile the beauty and the ugliness of contemporary life.
In the last six years I have been working on two distinct bodies of work. Works from the Snow Job, Made in China, Land of Hope and Glory, The Beauty of It All, Bear Market and House on Fire series are works that sit between comic tragedy and cautionary tale. There are several sources that inform this work: Victorian children's books, Buddhist philosophy, current events, and satirical writers such as Voltaire.
The second body of work, the Family series, is based on my visits with families headed by gay and lesbian parents. They depict everyday, mundane moments in the families’ lives. These works lack irony. They are simply families living life as we all do.
What I believe connects both bodies of work is the complicated moment that I am interested in creating for the viewer. Are we sure we know what we are looking at? Are we sure our assumptions are correct? Are we sure we truly understand what's going on?
