Artist Statement

Living in Southern California, I am used to seeing the new, the glamorous, the perfect or near perfect. But, what have always interested me are the discards, the not so perfect, the used up, the misfits—the “missing sock” that escapes from the laundry when backs are turned.  I imagine that deep in the sea there must be a trillion lost socks that are being absorbed into the all-resourceful eco system, a reminder that we live in times of consumption and waste.

Since the beginning of 2009, I have re-directed some missing socks (more than 1500 of them) into art.  I have two new bodies of work: The first, which I tentatively titled “Crustaceans”, is an installation of barnacle-like organisms that resemble intimate body parts; Intestines, lips, tongues, vaginas. The “crustaceans” resemble pods that are about to give birth to other forms of life or communication. Some pods contain forms resembling wagging tongues, a reminder that really every one of them contains—for better or worse—its own voice.

My second series, in a spirit of nature gone gaga, I have mutated flora/fauna forms made with the (for now) indispensable socks, plaster, paint and assorted found objects. The groupings symbolize human relationships in all their complexity.  It’s a reversal of natural order they play roles assigned to humanity.  I have dubbed these flower-bodied proto-humans “Muta-Buds & Blossoms.”

Biographical notes:

My interest in combining environmental issues and art began while participating in Judy Chicago’s project “Envisioning the Future” in 2003. Later in 2007 I was included in Betty A. Browns curated show “Echoes: Women Inspired by Nature” where I had another opportunity to play with morphed nature. My current work continues to incorporate elements of nature I work with color and texture to create tactile facades that are fluid and organic my aim to evoke visual curiosity and delight. A Southern California native I now spend my time between So Cal and New York City.