Throughout the ages, ideas and concepts have been communicated through symbols. As an artist, I am emphatically inspired to communicate that which is difficult to convey in few words, and what is magnificent in depth, in symbols. Specifically, I am called to meditate on the mysteries of life, the struggles of humanity and our responsibilities, and the grandeur of divine mercy, grace, and sovereignty; and from these contemplations create an image that encompasses and conveys my most complete vision possible of these subjects. Paul Tillich writes in his book Theology of Culture that, “a symbol always "points beyond itself" to something that is unquantifiable and mysterious,” and that “The unique nature of a symbol is that it gives access to deeper layers of reality which are otherwise inaccessible.”
The universality of symbolic communication has limitless potential. A symbol, as defined by Joseph Cambell, is an energy evoking, and directing, agent. For each individual person who encounters my painting or sculpture, energy is created and the person is directed freely to experience his or her own enlightenment guided by the unique combination and composition of symbolic elements. With this solidly understood, it is crucial that my intention for each work of art be for good, and good alone. As a woman of Catholic faith, my understanding and belief of the greatest good is that each individual person has a relationship with God. When my intention aligns with my imagination, I create successful work, that which I thank God for.
Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to artists in 1999 and said, “Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality's surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery. The intuition itself springs from the depths of the human soul, where the desire to give meaning to one's own life is joined by the fleeting vision of beauty and of the mysterious unity of things. All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardour of the creative moment: what they manage to express in their painting, their sculpting, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendour which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit.”
Oh the wonder of art!
The aesthetics of my work are greatly influenced by the modern art era, particularly the evolution of abstract expressionism to minimalism. The paring down of elements in a composition in order to deliver an ineffable idea. Major artists of influence throughout my lifetime include Agnes Martin, Louise Nevelson, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett Newman, and Corita Kent.
For all of the splendor that art has brought to the brethren of this world, I am in awe, and humbly and overwhelmingly honored to be even the tiniest part of its purpose.