Collection Viii

Many of my paintings are infused with nostalgia and memory.  My 1997 thesis for my MFA Degree from RISD was based on the private space of my childhood fort.  I recreated the space that had been underneath the back porch of our home, using large canvases as the walls and painted paperback novels, recycled and strung to make a tile-like roof.  The outside of the fort was the back of each canvas, painted an earthy neutral taupe.  I wrote from top to bottom on each panel in a stream of consciousness about my life in the public eye.  By contrast inside the 5’ high fort were the colorfully painted and collaged front of the canvases, densely layered in private memories of my childhood.  I even recorded my early recollections on tape and played multiple layers of my voice.

A collection of discarded large mailbags from the US Postal Service challenged me to make use of them as canvases for my storytelling.  In my efforts to recycle these bags, I split open the seams and discovered the bags became giant dress shapes.  Each mailbag was transformed into a prominent wall-hanging that was painted, collaged and written upon with personal memories and subjects,  The collection was shown both at New Canaan, CT Library  Gallery and later Happy White Gallery in Barrington, RI