Odor Eaters

Odor Eaters (If the Shoe Fits)
Assemblage with designer shoe

A Taste of Old Orchard

A Taste of Old Orchard
Plein air collage with restaurant flyers

Patterns and Grids

I sprawl the map wide
over the steering wheel,
but it still doesn’t
make any sense.
Just how many
Fee Fee Roads
must there be?

Zombie

Zombie (Catharsis: Things I Didn't Do in High School)
Sharpie on doll

Wild Child

Wild Child (Catharsis: Things I Didn't Do in High School)
Sharpie on doll

Raven

Raven (Catharsis: Things I Didn't Do in High School)
Sharpie on doll

Muertos

Muertos (Catharsis: Things I Didn't Do in High School)
Sharpie on doll

Galaxy

Galaxy (Catharsis: Things I Didn't Do in High School)Sharpie on doll

Dryad

Dryad (Catharsis: Things I Didn't Do in High School)
Sharpie on doll

Anansi

Anansi (Catharsis: Things I Didn't Do in High School)
Sharpie on doll

Abraham Lincoln

Not quite lacking tact,
he made a pact
so to enact
an idea thus racked –
it had been sacked!
His voice may have cracked,
but the idea he backed
as it was tracked
into a better tract,
no longer slacked
from the horrid act
of backing lacked.

Indeed,
as he decreed,
there was a need
to intercede,
and so he agreed
that to Congress he’d plead
to plant a seed
and thus to lead
the nation in creed.
By enacting the deed
allowing slaves to be freed,
he caused some to secede.

Lovers Lookout

Lovers Lookout
Watercolor and oil paint pen on paper

Green Garden Bowler

Green Garden Bowler
Revisitation from Fluxfest Chicago 2014, with hats from Jonathan Stangroom

Waste Not, Want Not

Waste Not, Want Not
Toilet paper installation; viewers were invited to take a piece of toilet paper as a memento

Treasure

My husband kept
the first “honey do” list
I ever left for him.
He still has it to this day.

Have You Ever Noticed

Have You Ever Noticed...
Watercolor and ink illustration for Let's Go Slushmucking

Reflecting

Reflecting on the Distinctions Between Art & Craft
Partially finished paint-by-number kit

Fluxfest Chicago 2012

Writer’s Block

Act 1
Silence

Act 2
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.
I seem to have developed a serious case of writer’s block.

Act 3
Scream



LOST

Lost
Art that connects with the casual observer


Which Does Not Require

An Artist’s Statement summarizing what the artist was trying to convey in his/her work

Awareness of geographic, political, religious and societal influences on the artist’s life and work

Background study in art history, past and present

Examination of the cultural and situational contexts in which the work was originally exhibited

Familiarity with the artist’s past works

In-depth analysis by an art critic or historian

Justification of gallery or museum representation

Knowledge of both those for whom the work was initially created and those who actually viewed it

Philosophical, psychoanalytical, and spiritual interpretation of the means of expression

Study of the time period in which the work was made

Technical evaluation of the materials and processes used and the resulting effects on the work

Understanding of the artist’s financial wellbeing, mental and physical health, and personal life

Mayan Face

Mayan Face
Artist trading card

Buried Treasure

Buried Treasure
Performance poster

LOST

LOST
This project was initially developed in response to the Contemporary Art Museum's Great Rivers Biennial call for art and has since been reappropriated into more subverted street and mail art. I installed numerous signs throughout Columbia at a couple of points in 2011 on the announcement boards downtown in conjunction with the Hint Fiction show at the Columbia Art League in response to a story about the future of art.
Text reads:
LOST
ART THAT CONNECTS
WITH THE CASUAL OBSERVER

Which Does Not Require:
An Artist's Statement summarizing what the artist was trying to convey in his/her work
Awareness of geographic, political, religious and societal influences on the artist's life and work
Background study in art history, past and present
Examination of the cultural and situational contexts in which the work was originally exhibited
Familiarity with the artist's past works
In-depth analysis by an art critic or historian
Justification of gallery or museum representation
Knowledge of both those for whom the work was initially created and those who actually viewed it
Philosophical, psychoanalytical, and spiritual interpretation of the means of expression
Study of the time period in which the work was made
Technical evaluation of the materials and processes used and the resulting effects on the work
Understanding of the artist's financial wellbeing, mental and physical health, and personal life

Ocean View

Ocean View
Watercolor and oil paint pen

Ken Stayed Home

While Barbie Was Out Shopping, Ken Stayed Home and Played with Himself
Ken doll, chess board, doll grade Sculpey

The Red Key

(as divulged to me by the Ghost of George Anderson)

I saw the ad
and caught the next train
for La Porte County, Indiana.

Belle is all I’d ever wanted.
But that jealous hired-hand Ray
is up to no good I’m sure.

Over dinner,
I agreed to pay her mortgage
should we be married.

I turned in early but awoke
to her standing there,
eyes aglow with madness.

A mouse caught in the cat’s gaze.
Fight or flee, I chose the latter
and escaped with my life.

That hog farm stinks of more than swine.
The secret is buried out back,
a red key rooted to her history.

Writer’s Statement:
This poem was borne in response to a digital photograph entitled “The Red Key.”  When I first saw the picture I was reminded of the Bluebeard fable in which the heroine is charged with not entering a specific room while her husband is away but does so anyway, causing the key to bleed profusely and reveal her as insubordinate.  But the landscape bespoke something less far away, so I wanted to rework that story into American legend.  Serial killer Belle Gunness, who is thought to have committed over 40 murders (including those of her own children), inspired the story of The Bad Seed and has been compared to the mythical Bluebeard of fable.  George Anderson from Tarkio, MO was the only survivor of a series of suitors responding to a personal ad placed by widow Gunness after her husband’s death.

Statuesque Seagull

Statuesque Seagull
Watercolor & oil paint pen

Not All Here

Not All Here
Propaganda image for social networking

Homage

Homage to Andy Goldsworthy
Outdoor collaborations with Michelle Zielinski after watching Andy Goldsworthy: Rivers & Tides

I Like the Cold

I like the cold.
I like to run outside
and spread my arms
and twirl and spin.
So, please don’t tell me to put on a coat
or I might catch a cold.

I like the wind.
I like to watch my scarf
as it flies around
like a banner.
So, please don’t tell me not to take it off
if I don’t want the flu.

I like the snow.
I like to play in slush
and feel it ooze
and soak my clothes.
So, please don’t tell me to wear galoshes
or I’ll get pneumonia.

I don’t feel so good.
I wonder why?

Seven Holy Virtues

Patience (against Anger/Wrath)
Two hours in line
Waiting at the DMV
Puts people on edge.

Kindness (against Envy)
Socially elite?
Show you have money to burn
By helping others.

Abstinence (against Gluttony)
Beautiful extremes:
Anorexic girls embrace
Consumer culture.

Liberality (against Greed)
Don’t let “friends” go broke;
Let them walk all over you -
That’s your worth to them.

Chastity (against Lust)
Self-proclaimed virgin;
She’s just another rock star
Flirting on TV.

Humility (against Pride)
We must be the best -
Depressed by imperfection,
We become worthless.

Diligence (against Sloth)
Working overtime,
The new salaried standard.
Family can wait.

Painting Palette

Painting palette
Acrylic on canvas board

Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad
Glass block with faux fruit