“If more politicians knew poetry and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live.” - President John F. Kennedy

I began my creative journey in my teens, writing music, playing bars and clubs and touring with a variety of bands including one of the first all-female alt-rock bands in the country: Tetes Noires. In my 30’s I segued into public art and mixed media performance. I also attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where I received a BFA in Interdisciplinary Studies. My 40’s have found me in the studio, engaged in the more introspective work of painting and drawing. It seems to me a natural progression.

I tend to work in thematic series. These include Blue Horizons, a meditation on the duality of life that employs the horizon line as a visual metaphor; Generations, a collection of paintings referencing fertility, transformation and the genetic and biophysical links that connect us all; and American Visions, a response to the cultural upheaval and tragedy of 9-11. American Visions was created during a residency in Lanesboro, Minnesota in 2004. The American Visions paintings use the American flag as a starting point, integrating poetry and the written word to create visual riffs inspired by the flag. This work was created with the support of the Jerome Foundation and the Cornucopia Art Center of Lanesboro.

Most recently I’ve begun to apply the creative process to exploring and understanding the war in Iraq. War, Redacted is a new series inspired by images of U.S. casualties arriving at the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base (these documentary photographs were obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by Russ Kick and Ralph Beglietier.)
Twenty-five years ago I was writing songs about apartheid in South Africa; today I am creating paintings about war. As an artist and engaged citizen I continue to be inspired by the intersection of art and political expression and believe that the arts have a role to play in shaping the public consciousness.