Artist Statement
As a young photographer I studied Arbus portraits, the urban work of Eugene Smith and the street scenes of Cartier-Bresson. They revealed secret worlds beneath the surface that were fascinating. They seemed to express powerful and fragile, fleeting and enduring, in a way that was seamless. Exploring these dichotomies and the duality in life they represent are what I aspire to in my work. My photography is minimalist in style and often finds a graphic or abstract expression. It evolves out of my fascination with composition, abstraction and serendipity in our visual world. Rather than method, technique or invention, I rely on my eye to capture my subject as I see it in the moment. Things that work well in the abstract are repeating shapes and the strange or random presentation of unexpected elements when the light or angle of view is just right. With my lens I extract things, people and scenes from their ordinary context. What I love most about working with abstraction is the ambiguity it creates; the challenge it poses to our sensibilities and our need to make sense of the world. My eye also naturally leans toward graphic subjects where color or a strong graphic structure dominates. I want to communicate a sense of balance and stark simplicity in my photographs. What drives me is my desire to uncover the dualities present in life, to get at the history and emotion that lies beneath all people, all things. I love working with photographs because they make people see in ways that moments connected in time can’t. Life moves so fast around us that it’s hard to stop and really take something in. I’m drawn to the ability of photography to pull moments and objects out of time and space, making them available to us; slowing things down to a single frame that we can gaze into.
Bio
At 20 years old, I took off from school, bought a Nikon and traveled around Europe. By the time I got back, there were two things I had figured out . First, I was most alive when taking pictures. Time seemed to melt away when my eye took over. Second, all I seemed to want to do was travel and learn. There was a spark that ignited when I was exploring new ground. Photography and travel belonged together for me and I couldn’t imagine one without the other. Returning to school, I changed my major and graduated with a degree in International Studies from the University of Washington. I wanted to practice French and see first‐hand the issues of Third World development I had learned about in school. I joined an international exchange network and went to North Africa where I worked for 3 months at the national transportation company in Tunisia. My experiences in Tunis and later in Paris sustained me back in the U.S., where I worked at a number of jobs, including Photographer’s Studio Manager and Export Rep for an international customs broker & export firm. I attended photography workshops and worked in my darkroom. Currently I am based in the Pacific Northwest where I live on a small farm and travel, with camera, at every opportunity.
Clients
Zebra Partners, LLC- Seattle
Sapphire Energy- San Diego
Equinox Soap Company- Poulsbo, WA
Barker Creek Publishing- Silverdale, WA
Exhibitions
Art Addiction Gallery Juried Online Art Exhibition featuring 12 images from my Urban Abstract Collection including an award winning photograph. 3/10-3/12
Manhattan Arts International Juried Online Exhibition "Celebrate Her Story". 6/09-9/09
Upstream People Gallery "11th Annual All Media Juried Online Int'l Art Exhibition" & "Color: Bold/Subtle Online Int'l Juried Art Exhibit". Two of eight photos selected for these shows were given special juror's recognition for originality of concept and technical artistic achievement. 1/09-12/09
Kitsap Arts and Crafts Annual Festival Juried Best in Photography Award. 7/24/09-7/27/09
The Attic holds The Fuschia Tree's First International Art Exhibition, "Mint Green" featuring the work of 28 artists, New Delhi. 9/24/08-10/8/08
Hida Northwest Traders Studio Open House Exhibit featuring photos from Mexico. 7/19/08-08/19/08
Michigan Friends of Photography Traveling Art Exhibition Juried by Joel Sternfeld. 4/2/95-2/28/96
Photo Galerie Bild of Aarau, Switzerland "Tableaux Botaniques" featuring a collection of solarized seashells and hand colored flowers. 10/11/92-11/1/92