To provide access to original art for people of modest means, I donate work to charities to sell in their resale shops. My series Donated chronicles this art that I hope will grace the walls of the everyday person and bring them joy.

NONCONFORMITY, as the name implies, is a fun piece of reclaimed wood that at its largest is 22 by 38 inches. It is made with acrylic paint using my wapik technique. The charity to which it was donated noted that its unusual evokes joy.

I prefer working on a larger scale, but FLORA is only 9 by 12 inches. Affordable for a happy home.

To provide access to original art for people of modest means, I donate work to charities to sell in their resale shops. My series Donated chronicles this art that I hope will grace the walls of the everyday person and bring them joy.

POSSIBILITIES is about 30 by 45 inches. It began with an odd shaped piece of reclaimed wood, then the colors and design were applied using my wapik technique. An intriguing piece for that perfect work or living space.

I love the creation of art. As a self taught artist, I did not develop the network nor insights to navigate the art world as learned in a formal art education. To share my work with the world was challenging, even before 2020, despite being in galleries and boutiques, which have all now closed. If there were numerous barriers to showing my work, what were the barriers to actually have someone own and enjoy the work?  I believe that price should not be a barrier to bringing the joy of art into one’s life.

We tend to think of original art as something to see in museums or as investments for the uber-rich. But everyone should be able to be inspired by art in their everyday living spaces. Money should not be an obstacle. So, this is why I donate work to charities to sell in their resale shops. This provides access to people of modest means, while benefiting the charity’s outreach efforts to those in need.

Of course, I need to sell work, too. And I have no illusions of being able to sustain a comfortable living without contributions from other means. But I wish to remove myself from the center of the work—it is about you, the viewer, having access, in person, able to see and touch it, on demand. So one thing I will be sharing with you is my series Donated—presenting the art I hope will grace the walls of the everyday person and bring joy to them and the world.

These pieces, BROKEN PROMISE (12 x 41 inches) and KEPT PROMISE (12 x 46 inches) began with pieces of reclaimed wood. Then the colors and design were applied using my wapik technique.

Artists often find new ways to organize and represent the world. My creative endeavors began with textiles and fibers, and it is this experience which inspired me to adapt the textile dyeing technique, batik, into painting on reclaimed wood--a process I call wapik. Wax and acrylic paint are applied and removed in a series of steps. First, there is an acrylic underpainting, which is then topped with a different wax painting, followed by final coat of acrylic paint. Once the final coat of paint is dry, the wax (along with the final layer of paint atop it) is scraped off.

This technique involves numerous possibilities, involving colors and designs of the underpainting, the wax, and the color combinations involved in the final layer. This process is indicative of my focus on abstract art to stimulate new ways of thinking and connecting.

This creation is the first completed piece using wapik.

ITS POSSIBLE

27x48 inches

sold to a private collection