I teach a variety of classes in both silk painting and floral arrangement. My goal as an educator is to empower both artists and non-artists to become independent creators through these art forms. I teach basic techniques combined with vocabulary and examples of the techniques. With this foundation, students have the confidence to move on and explore their own vision and personal style.
Every time I apply the brush to silk my heart skips a beat.
Silk painting offers a palette of endless possibilities.
In 1978, I founded Ivy Imports, importing silk painting products from France, thus helping to launch and popularize the art form in America.
My involvement in the art world, silk painting in particular, is of long standing. I founded SPIN (Silk Painters International), a non-profit organization, in order to promote this art form, and I currently serve as the Executive Director. I am heavily involved in the teaching the art of silk painting. Please note that I teach in English as well as French.
Since then I have taught and demonstrated silk painting extensively in a variety of venues: trade shows, conventions, in my studio, hands-on demonstrations, community colleges, children’s programs and also held art exhibitions.
Inspiration lurks in everyday shapes and abstractions so my approach remains eclectic. Visual illusion springs from experimentation with composition and the manipulation of motifs through the layering of diverse silk fabrics. The hallmark of my silk work spells ‘Textures and Color’. To see this art form is to appreciate it.
Striving to push the limitations of photography, I query: How to reconcile a still image with my striving for drama? How to pursue a fleeting image, a mood, a look? And what about the unusual, the odd, the quirky?
My subjects lurk and wait everywhere and they can be anything; things breathing and living; people, inanimate objects. Florals, water plants, trees and rocks figure very prominently in my work because they reflect my long held passion for nature, for textures for colors.
In my travels I have found a plethora of exotic plants, settings, environments that disorient and yet breathe the everyday. People: a special angle, a tilt of the head, an unusual pose. Each may spell my call to action. Shapes and abstractions may at first blush appear more static. But they live in light and shadows, in volume and textures.
My approach is usually eclectic, I often try to catch the instant and bemoan a lost opportunity. I enjoy experimenting with composition. I try to manipulate motifs; I re-shoot repeatedly, reworking images with shifts and growth, with changes in mood and light.
With photography I seek to connect and to share, to prod and to explore. I invite the viewer to take a second look and share a stretch of the road.
The Mission of Silk Painters International Inc. (SPIN) is to support
and encourage the professional development of silk artists and to promote
worldwide recognition of and appreciation for silk art.
SPIN is focused on: