STATEMENT
I love the process of making art. Just working with materials, often new materials, is exciting. I am building a life size small horse out of compensator chain. My apartment building rebuilt the elevators and I lugged the chain in buckets to the Art Students League, NYC on the bus. I have built a horse with plumbing parts. I built a small horse of masonry nails. Carving in stone and wood, modeling in clay, casting in wax, building layers in fabric, materials for collage, painting is all a joy and a continued source of energy. Moving fluidly among the materials keeps me engaged, exploring possibilities. The very process of creating work keeps me humble and honest, forced to learn. My goal is to build large sculptures for gardens and open spaces.
BIOGRAPHY
I studied fine art at Syracuse University and completed a BA at Hofstra University. I married young and have three married children, eight grandchildren. I received an MA in Art Therapy and Creative Development from Pratt Institute and earned teaching degrees grades K-12, NY and NJ at the same time.I believe that having children was beneficial to understanding behavior patterns, family routines, crazy hours like 4-7 PM when children normally are hyper until fed and bathed. I worked in special education and as an art therapist for several years. The education degree and practice of Art Therapy were a transformative experience. Observing children and adults learn to express themselves, feelings using a variety of mediums was inspirational. I believe my own children benefitted from my increased understanding. I continued volunteering my time as an Art Therapist for twenty years in a local hospital’s crisis unit because I believed the modality was miraculous. I am so proud, fortunate to have been instrumental in helping people improve themselves.
My artistic impulses were sparked by the process of encouraging creativity in others. I studied Graduate Sculpture at Columbia University, concentrating on pneumatic stone carving with Minoro Nizuma for twelve years. I furthered my education by enrolling in figure drawing and anatomy at Columbia University. Still not satisfied, I began studying with Chaim Gross at the New School and later at the Educational Alliance for an additional twelve years in figurative carving. The Educational Alliance commissioned a bust of Chaim Gross in bronze commemorating fifty years of teaching there. Chaim and his wife, Renee became intimate family friends and spent holidays with my family until Chaim’s death in 1991. When my children reached their teenage years I found it difficult to meet the hours required to as a therapist and, most importantly “maintain a sense of humor”, so I threw myself on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and asked for a job.
I enriched my life by working for eighteen years at the Metropolitan Museum. The experience was an ideal exchange. I taught in the galleries and the museum gave me an incredible education. I had lectures and training from the directors of the various departments at the museum.The range of subject matter was infinite from Ancient Egypt, Japan, China, Middle Ages, 20th Century Painting, the American Wing, Rockefeller Wing and the Primitive Art Galleries, European Paintings, etc. Field trips around the country were part of the training with the Met as well as the constant exposure to the world’s treasures. On any given day at the Met, I moved from country to country in a time machine. It was thrilling. I continued sculpting away and added a boutique design firm, Rosebud Design that specialized in architectural design. It was a good combination with sculpting and space planning.
I separated from my husband in 1992 after a long term marriage. I moved to Nantucket, MA full time and became part of an active artistic community. I joined the Artist Association of Nantucket and began showing sculpture and painting in 1995. I showed my work at the James Hunt Barker Gallery beginning in 1995. I became associated with the Robert Foster Fine Art Gallery in early 2000 and started a long relationship of solo shows. I exhibited sculpture, paintings, collage, and photography until 2016 when I sold my house and studio and moved to NYC.
I have taken workshops with: Everett Raymond Kindstler, Wolf Kahn, Bert Silverman at both the National Academy and the Art Students League. I have been a member of the New York Sculpture Society and the Artist Association of Nantucket and exhibited paintings, sculpture and collage for over thirty years in both solo and group shows.
I am welding at the Art Students League since 2015 and have been so energized by the opportunities of working in steel that I attend the League full time. i bought my fourth Vizsla sporting dog two years ago and spend hours every day walking through the woods in Central Park with Buddy. Buddy is the subject of many works in steel. I also became a member of the New York Society of Women Artists in 2019 and participated in a group show in July2019. I am impressed by NYSWA and look forward to a long, productive relationship.