A statement for the group exhibition, Women by Women
My point of view in portraying women is influenced by many personal and cultural factors, a primary one being my mother
who moved with ease between various roles, expressing an earthy sexuality as well as the modern independence of a working
woman. She was a hairstylist and salon owner playing with the illusion of glamor. I saw my southern Californian culture in
contrast to her southern, country Texan upbringing. She frequently changed her image with cosmetics and fashion, emulating
popular trends and the dynamic women we watched on television. With humor she often used exaggerated womanly gestures and
a falsetto speaking voice. As cancer ravaged her body, she didn't depend on the outer forms for her sense of self and
she maintained an inner feminine radiant beauty.
By his example, my father gave me an early understanding
of what is referred to as "the male gaze", a way of objectifying women, which I absorbed into my psyche. As a little
girl, I had access to his Playboy magazines and other pornography. These pictures struck me as strange, the women's poses
were cold, and overly self-conscious. I learned something about the erotic fixation in looking at an image over and over again.
Art history also has a load of pictorial conventions, made by mostly male artists, depicting a woman's body - it
elevates modes of seeing to an aesthetic, artistic value.
I believe the way women see other women is in part
influenced by the ways men see us - but it encompasses more. We have different needs, desires and experiences relating to
women and the feminine. The women in my paintings sometimes appear nude, calling attention to their sexual allure, a
quality I respect and celebrate. For me nudity is also a metaphor for a revelation of intimate feelings and identity, alternating
with the suggestion of mystery about parts of the self that are not revealed. The naked body presents conflicts between physical
ideals and the so-called imperfections of an individual woman; the tension between the experience of sensual pleasure and
dangers of sexuality imposed by repression and abuse of the body.
Education
2003 MFA Painting and Drawing. Tyler School of Art,
Temple Univ., Philadelphia, PA
2001 BA in Painting, San Diego State University,
San Diego, CA.
Exhibitions
2010 Virginia Academy of Art National Juried Exhibition, Lynchburg, VA. *Juror's Choice Avard
2010 Southern
Californis Regional Juried Exhibition, San Diego, Ca.
2010 San Diego Portrait Society All Members Show
2010
Instructor Stow, San Diego Art Dept.
2010 "Women by Women" group exhibition, San Diego Womens Figurative
Group. San Diego Art Dept.
2009 "Body Narratives" New Americans Museum, San
Diego, Ca. (Group)
2008 Museum
of Living Artist, San Diego Art Institute
2007 "Embody",
San Diego Art Department (One-Person show)
2005-7 "Ray at Night",
San Diego Art Department, San Diego, Ca. Artwalk
2005
"Real People" Old Courthouse Figurative League, Woodstock Il. (Juried, Group)
2004 Group show, "naked-in-waiting" Rush Arts Gallery, New York,
NY.
2003 MFA thesis show, Temple University Gallery,
Philadelphia, PA.
2001 "Bodily Intent" 838
Gallery, San Diego, CA. (Solo)
2000 Everette G.
Jackson Gallery, San Diego State University (Two-Person)
Public Art and Collections
2005 Private collection of Isaac Cyrille, Lyon, France
2004 G.R. Namdi Gallery, NY, NY
2001 Port of San Diego,
San Diego, CA.
2001 Private collection of Jacquelin Corlin,
San Diego, CA
2001 Private collection of Leah Younker, San Diego, CA
Teaching Experience
2009
Canyon Crest High School. Life Drawing- After School Program, San Diego, CA.
2008 Art Instructor,
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA
Sp 2006 - Present Adjunct
Professor, Drawing. Mesa Community College, San Diego, CA.
Oct. 2005
- Present Art Instructor, Drawing. San Diego Art Department, San Diego, CA.
