A Short History
As a child growing up in the 1950’s I wanted to be a cowboy. Later, when I discovered racetracks and horses I wanted to be a jockey. I drew horses incessantly and other things occasionally but learning to read opened me up to the world of words. There in the dusty stacks of the city library my imagination found a home in stories. Drawing became the act of copying whole books by hand as I filled page after page with the gesture of careful cursive.
Wind the tape forward into the mid 1970’s and somehow I have found my way into the visual art program at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, making drawings and sculpture using words. Conceptual art and minimalism ruled my world. I learned how to think about art and oddly enough because I was not focused on learning a specific skill what I did learn was to step back and allow the creative process to call me to where I needed to go.
In 1980 I blew up my world and moved to Seattle. In an effort to cope with the emotional upheaval I turned to drawing. To my dismay I had spent so many years dwelling in the analytical rational world of conceptual art that when I was faced with a blank sheet of paper I had no idea what to draw. I began to walk, to wander, taking my camera, snapping pictures, capturing images in my neighborhood, learning what I liked. When offered a darkroom to use I began stumbling my way to discovery. I was a novice at darkroom technique but within 3 years my method of combining multiple images into one print had become so complicated that my hand had disappeared from the process. Leaving the darkroom behind I began drawing and painting. Having regained the ability to connect to my inner world, I realized that this connection needed to be carefully nurtured. I have learned that I must trust the instinct to blow up my world periodically to bring balance and freshness into the work.
Over the years I have sought a deeper connection to psychological, mystical, and environmental concerns through Jungian Dreamwork, Shamanic Soul Work, Astrology, and Yoga side by side with creating images. I have learned to wait, to listen, and to walk away as needed. Seeking a reflective place where mystery and beauty lie in the quiet magic of the unknown.
I live today in Seattle with my husband Marc Wenet. We have raised a child together, and worked side by side for 35 years exploring the extraordinary world of creating things.