My Statement

Rock, paper, wood!!

Rock and wood I’ve collected since childhood! Paper came later when I became a full time artist. Brought up in upstate New York during the 60’s, the woods and creaks nearby were our places to adventure and play. We would also hunt for clay, stone and wood, taking home the clay for my mother to create ceramic pieces. My mother was my first teacher, an artist in her own right. She taught me how to look for stones, fossils and wood early in my life, and now its part of my very being. Mom also painted in different mediums such as oil, acrylic, gauche and there was always something crafty happening with all the natural found objects we foraged together. A deep knowing who I was meant to be since childhood as an artist has a thread throughout my history with stone, wood and now paper. There’s nothing like the smell of wet rock, being outdoors and seeking the objects of my hearts desire to create with! Nature is my cathedral.

The combination of creating with rock, paper and wood has been a magical journey since I was a young adult. I started out with fibrous pre-dyed colored papers that I would purchase piece by piece from art stores wherever I traveled. My love of paper evolved into creating my own pigmented papers. Currently I purchase Japanese paper to elevate and refine my trademark style of paper painting. I use diverse ways to create my paper in my paintings with batik resist, mono printing and sewing many of the papers and applying them to the canvas for very a refined finished piece.

Sculpting is another strength for me as an artist also. When I first started sculpting I carved sacred stone figures with smaller stone inlays. At the same time I started learning how to weld small pieces of brass, bronze and copper to make additives to my sculpture. I would find stone in local streams here in TN, Arkansas and also on trips through out the West or studies abroad overseas. Since my work is larger and taller in the past 10 years I use wood to sculpt taller figures and I have a keen interest in the curved wood to create unique compositions. Many friends have gifted me found wood and stone. I have a small forest of a large seasoned wood in the sculpting area, always on reserve for me to create. The trademark of my work is the use of papers to cover my sculptural figures. Layers of color are added to the paper which lends the sculpture to look similar to stone. Added elements of wood, stone or even welded twig like branches for adornment are used on many of my sculptures. With almost every piece of wood or stone, I remember where I found them or who gave them to me.

In my career as an artist I have been honored to have been married to a master artist Anton Weiss who shared his passion and knowledge as we worked side by side for the past 20 plus years. I married my mentor and best friend. He is the reason why I am successful to this day. I learned a meticulous craftsman work ethic and how to create all forms for painting in any water media and sculpting in wood, stone and metal from start to finish. I celebrate our life together and the passion we shared for creating in all forms through creating my art on my own.

My work is in the TN State Museum, my sculptures and paintings have been placed in corporate & hospital collections, privately collected nationally and internationally. I teach and mentor because I love to share and in sharing I learn so much from others.

My art is a reflection of my love of being connected to nature and divinity. The organic theme is forever a calming factor and presents a curiosity for the viewer to look deeper in hopes that their spirit is set free…………