Statement
My current exhibit continues the exploration of the luscious impossibility of a woman’s body and life. I explore the issues of the body and how it affects the young and old alike. The infatuation with youth and an idealized body is at the heart of my investigation. This series discusses the idea of a female looking at her body as dysmorphic or misshapen.
I use the photographs of my niece as reference to produce a blend of disparate forms by pouring ink on yupo paper measuring 5’ x 5’. The paper is flooded with ink and the paper is twisted and turned spewing and spilling, absorbing and gushing on the surface. The outcome is random and indeterminate. I use painting as a communication tool to confront my experiences as a woman yet luxuriating in the pleasure of the process.
Body dysmorphia is an extreme obsession with body image or appearance. It can include body parts or the body as a whole. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines body dysmorphic disorder as “a somatoform disorder marked by a preoccupation with an imagined or trivial defect in appearance that causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.”
My comment is to disparage the idea of negative body image and embrace the gorgeous, sexy, ravishing, curvy body of the female regardless of her shape…thin, medium stature, overweight, full-figured. I am attempting to invent a new language for embracing the body; and expel the societal views of the unattainable “perfect” body.
I’ve shown in various galleries in Denver. I am a member, an officer, and exhibitor of the prestigious Ice Cube Gallery and an associate member and exhibitor of the well-known Pirate.
In 2000, I graduated summa cum laude with a BFA from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, Colorado under the direction of Clark Richert. I received the prestigious Chuck Mattox Memorial Scholarship, the Colorado State Merit Scholarship and “Best in Painting” in the Fine Arts Department