Greetings.I am an artist and designer. I am deeply inspired by the long dark monochromatic winters in Interior Alaska, as they provide a natural blank canvas for the imagination where anything can lurk. Color in this landscape, although at times subtle, is alive and takes on great importance, a necessary reminder of the immediacy of living. My work generally consists of abstracted layers of meaning that weave narrative through a graphically rich and colorful presentations. The stories and knowledge from the point of view of the observer are as important as my own and add meaning for a collaborative experience. I often paint. My favorite mediums include gouache, acrylic, graphite, oil and encaustic. Yet, I regularly pursue photography, digital art, emergent technologies (like augmented reality), and I have a background in fine metals. I also enjoy tinkering with ceramics, printmaking, wool felting, and a lot of other random creative pursuits. During the day, I am lucky to be employed in a very creative career, instructional design, at UAF eCampus. I am Alaskan. Many of my favorite memories are rooted in this place: being blown about by Southeast Taku wind, living in a squatters cabin above Turnagain Arm, learning to cross country ski on the Tanana River, traveling through vast wilderness without seeing another soul, living in a treehouse amongst the sitka spruce, sailing into the Gulf under a blanket of cloudy skies, the silence of a fresh snow, the endless starry nights, the endless summer days… I first arrived in Alaska in 1971 and have lived in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks. Through the years, life has taken me 'outside' occasionally, but Alaska has always pulled me back home. I attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon and I currently live in Fairbanks. |
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