PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK

As a photographer, my path has been both diverse and consistent -- weaving
together many parallel strands of interest and varied media, based on themes and motifs
which have continued to attract and inspire my artistic efforts over the years.

The foundation of my training was in life-drawing, painting, composition, and art history-- which has informed and guided the cartooning and caricature I did in my teenage years; gravestone rubbings, as the basis of my first research and book project; then, box- assemblages filled with small precious objects, created during my twenties; and photography, which became my primary medium for expression from an early age.

I have always enjoyed combining the visual with the literary, emphasizing history and a concern for preservation of the past,alongside of a passion for color, patterned design, symbolism, and comparative religions. I have been drawn to explore and learn about the following subjects:

           Signs and icons, Symbols with universal significance and distribution
           Vernacular and folk arts, Handicrafts and hand-woven textiles
           Architectural sites and natural ‘wonders’
           “Power places” and their special features and energies
           Sacred arts and traditions, ceremonies and rituals
           Shrines and ritual offerings -- Women’s role in their creation
           Decorative patterns and geometric forms
           Doorways, arches,windows
           Indigenous peoples and cultures
           Bazaars and marketplaces--“Small Universes” of order within the chaos of
           merchandising and trade

The development of my vision has revolved around bringing together these interests and components -- and in finding that elusive and always mysterious means to distill, unveil and project them through the images I am able to capture with cameras and film.

TRAVEL

I have had many fortunate opportunities to travel, both domestically and internationally. During my childhood, family travels and exchange student experiences allowed me to observe and to experience a wider world outside of my home area, to appreciate cultural diversities, and to get to know the warmth, friendship, and spiritual richness of amazing people, throughout our ‘global community’.