I use ornamentation as a pictorial language. By depicting the ornamental on the surface in a spatial context, I am able to integrate the decorative into the visual language of the piece. The depicted ornament always brings its own history with it, and this is not identical with the way it is portrayed. The object is integrated into a collection and that is what is seen and understood. The interaction between the singular image depicted and the picture that is produced as a whole is often very different. The ornament becomes the organizing structure that holds the work together. When the image does emerge from its framework as the last refuge of spatial illusionism, what is left is an image that flaunts its flatness and the viewer becomes aware of the space and context of the work. There is a heightened perceptual and conceptual understanding of the configuration of the framework. I am interested in the field of tension between the figuration and the surface arrangement.

The nature of the web and its connections is another point of interest. The web becomes a system of arranging but also a place where there is differentiation between the system and form. The pictorial language with the visible material quality of the work develops into an intense dialogue between the images, their physical support and configuration, and the inherent language of materials. The eventual and inevitable collapse of the system, including the physical structure or the object itself, creates the flux that is at the core of the work. As a whole, the work delivers as much as possible without breaking the essential connections that would cause the system to collapse in on itself.

2007
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME

2003
MFA in Printmaking Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA

2001
BA Allegheny College Meadville, PA

1999
Studio Art Centers International Florence, Italy


AWARDS, GRANTS AND RESIDENCIES

2007
Fellowship, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME

2006
PCA Grant Recipient
Open Studio Program Fabric Workshop and Museum

2004
The Ora Lerman Trust Artist Residency, Laceyville, PA
Apprentice at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2003
Bracht Award Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA

2002
TA Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA
TA Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

2001
Doan Award Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
Kleeman Fund recipient, Meadville, PA
Commissioned works for Crawford County

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2005 - Present
Lecturer, Tyler School of Art, Temple University

2008
Adjunct, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA

2008 (Scheduled for Summer 2008)
Adjunct, Temple University Japan, Tokyo, Japan

2006
Open Studio Program, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2005
Putney Summer Program, Putney, Vermont

2003 - 2005
Adjunct Professor Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA

2004 - 2005
Adjunct Professor Cabrini College, Radnor, PA
Introduction to Painting and Drawing