The Cul-de-Sac
39"h x 63"w
2004
NFS
 

Artist Statement: A mature wooded area at the end of my street was cleared to install a cul-de-sac.  I have been fascinated with the plant life that colonized the bare ground.  The pictures and prints in this work were taken during the second year of growth. Plants represented include sycamore, mile-a-minute vine, moth mullein, locust, tulip poplar, raspberry, sumac, Virginia creeper, ragweed, white campion, locust, and poke.

Materials and techniques: The central image is a cyanotype on cotton, using actual plant material.  The borders are altered digital photos printed on pima cotton, and the side panels are heliographic prints of sumac.  I couched down hand dyed threads, and did extensive machine stitching.

 

 

Poke Salad
37"h x 53"w
2003
NFS
 

Artist Statement: I am fascinated with the poke plant; although it is a weed I assiduously remove from my flowerbeds, I eat the greens in the early spring (the mature plant is toxic), and I greatly admire the beauty of the berries in the fall.  The plants represented in this work were gathered in the midst of a terrible drought—poke is a survivor.

Materials and techniques: The central image is a cyanotype on cotton, using poke, alpine strawberries, locust and painted fern.  The border is pieced from Mysore silks brought back from a trip to India.  It is hand embroidered, machine stitched, and hand beaded.

 

 

Diana
12"h x 12"w
2004
$325
 

Artist Statement: When the Rose of Sharon shrubs bloom, I know that high summer is past, and fall is inexorably creeping closer.  The cultivar “Diana” has large, single white flowers that glow on a moonlight night.

Materials and techniques: I began with a digital photograph, which I printed on a transparency and used to develop a cyanotype on cotton.  The borders are silk.  It is hand embroidered, machine stitched, and hand beaded. 

 

 

Cape May: The Jetty
20"h x 20"w
2004
$350

Artist Statement: This is the first in a series made to celebrate a trip to Cape May, NJ.  I rose at dawn and walked the deserted beaches taking pictures of the sunrise.  In this piece I wanted to capture the moment when the waves crash against the stones of the jetty. 

Materials and techniques: A digital photograph was altered and printed on pima cotton.  The borders are pieced from silks.  I used hand and machine stitching, and did beadwork with seed beads and small shells.

 

 

Sweetgum in Autumn
54"h x 47"w
2004
NFS
 

Artist Statement: The sweetgum tree is unique in its fall coloring—the leaves turn various shades of yellow, red, orange and purple, all on the same tree.  I wanted to capture some of its fleeting glory on a mellow autumn day.

Materials and techniques: I started by pruning an entire branch and using it make a cyanotype on cotton.  The inner border is an ethnic indigo cotton and the outer border is pieced from Mysore and duiponi silks.  It is hand embroidered, extensively machine stitched, and hand beaded with glass beads and semi-precious stones.