The stories I have collected, some I thought I had forgotten, are stories that are carried with me and spill into the art I make.  The amazing things my father built and then destroyed, the way my mother was a soldier, how I believe I am a woman Of Africa but my roots, my heritage, and the color of my skin say otherwise.   

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When outside the studio, ideas relating to belonging, transition, and human value are themes that motivate me to work and they form the basis of my creative intentions; and once inside the studio, my emotions, subconscious memory, and personal experience force me to risk letting go of any pre-designed ideas and to experiment with process and the aesthetics of form and material.  

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This intentional and unintentional interplay creates a spark then a fire and then a blaze.  

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Gradually the need has fallen away to categorize my style as I shift between abstract and figurative and so I work with painting and collage, including gestural mark-making, text, and experimental photography into my practice. In my most current work, I use an object as a metaphor in unique conversation with my larger format paintings. I try and use materials and techniques with purpose so the bigger idea has further to carry.  

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Art to me is innate.  It has to resonate and at the very least, it has to be honest.