I get immense pleasure from the physicality and the lovely dusty mess of black charcoal in my hands moving across large paper. I begin each drawing with an empty mind - no conscious themes or titles. During the process, I systematically rotate the paper and make marks. After each rotation and then mark-making, I walk back from the work to study the development and see it as a whole. I am looking first for major forms; later I will add the minor forms. The ghost lines record my search for meaning. I am looking for relationships and tensions and gorgeous shapes in the interplay of forms.
My hope in this wilderness practice is to experience not knowing and the element of surprise; authenticity and beauty. Any conclusive form or theme that arrives early is abandoned. This ruthless self-imposed rule is central to the satisfaction and enjoyment I receive from these drawings. The title often comes to me after the major forms are in place. This title may help to tighten and finalize the work.
My compulsion to lay down heavy lines with thick sticks of charcoal on large paper satisfies my craving to connect to the earth and to my humanity. Going big with line satisfies my need for physical expression. My work often begins here. In another life I think I was a dancer - or a drummer.🥰 Most of my work begins with my hunger for physical expression. I have never been interested in explaining my work. Never been interested in producing work from my head.✨
