From the Artist
My work spans 26 years of professional creative activities. I primarilywork on paper ranging from very small to as large as 90" x 120". The medium I use is gouache, acrylics, and sometimes oil sticks and photos. My works explore space. I call my spatialexplorationfracture landscapes. There are in some paintings the existence of two or more skies and disjointed landscapes filled with patterns, forms, different elevations, and other elements to create discord.I have always cast the female figure as a subject. Along with the figures, I include my own symbols and forms and some that are interpreted in African or African American folktales and religious and social issues. I am committed to the idea that art is a reflection of oneself. [In] the work, whether it is realistic or abstract, the colors and forms transmit [the] consciousness, unconsciousness, or subconsciousness of the artist.
—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records
My juxtaposition of the female figure with unusual environments and patterns create for mesettings forrelationships between women and the environment around them. I have for a number of years tried to confront the issue of women coming into union with each other and their gender in society. I represent the female as a soaring spirit, as precious as the pearls she wears. She is in transit, seeking higher ground. The ladders and steps are passages. The birds, like the ravens, are a source of strength. In some African myths the bird takesthe soul to heaven. The fish is the bird of the sea; they both are symbols of freedom. I delight in the notion that others who view my work create their own stories. I have always learned from the viewer and accept that we together are the raconteur.
—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records
