Artist Statement

     I make work about subcultures, outsiders, and the informal configurations

of community.  Primarily I work with paint, but I have been animating my paintings

and collages for the past eight years.  With these mediums, I enjoy telling the

story of a person or place.  I don’t just work in my studio.  I like to consider myself

a female explorer.  My animations are conceived through the observations and

conversations I have with the community of people I encounter in St. Louis.

Talking, walking, and driving, I discover my surroundings.  The journey could

also occur perusing a thrift store, old magazine, or yearbook.  The trinkets that

I find, and drawings and collages I make, all become a part my animations.  By

animating using things handmade, I endeavor to create visuals that evoke a

sense of enchantment and wonder.  Furthermore, by working in a process that

embraces a low-tech economy of means, I hope to match the authentic spirit

of everyday stories.  When I interview people in preparation for an animation, I

seek a dialogue with that individual that reveals their complexity.  I try to connect

with what he/she is passionate about and see how that relates to their history.