Artist Statement: "As an artist and printmaker I feel very fortunate to be able to fulfill my passion while allowing others to gain a glimpse of the calming affects which abound in nature, things that surround them daily but often go unnoticed. Many organic subjects are used in my etchings to offer refreshment, tranquility, and a sense of peace. Capturing natures various personalities of wild life from the coastal region is my intention. I embrace the simple beauty of clean lines and softly restrained colors in my passion to bring the joy of the outdoors to an indoor space. My approach allows me to share my “less is more” philosophy with viewers as they study my work. I find intaglio printmaking a flexible process for my expressive purposes. The graphic qualities allow me to explore my love for contrast, repetition, and patterns found in nature and to create soft lights and rich darks by using aquatint. My original etchings begin as plain zinc plates. I use ground, a tar-like substance, which prevents nitric acid from making contact with the plate, and a needle to remove the ground as I draw my image through the ground to expose the zinc. I often utilize natural elements, such as sea sponges, sand, salt, sugar, textiles, grasses, mosses and leaves to achieve textures in my designs. I place the plate in an acid bath, adding and removing ground, repeating the process until I have achieved varying depths in lines and aquatints until my image is complete. The etched plate is inked, positioned on my printing press, and damp paper is placed on top of the plate. Next the hand cranked press is turned, pushing the ink out of the plate on to the paper revealing the print. Finally the print is hand colored and signed. The process is repeated each time for each print. My attraction for printmaking began at the age of 12 when I took an etching class in New Orleans with my mother. I was intrigued by the history of the process which dates back to the 1500s and fascinated by its technique, especially when I realized how difficult and laborious it was and how few people still practice it. The process maintains an element of unpredictability which I find stimulating, as it demands compromises along the way. The method lends itself to accidental, new discoveries which I embrace, in turn, shaping my future works. I am grateful and feel blessed that people collect my art to hang in their homes. I love hearing others interpret it, often in ways I hadn’t thought of. My mission is to have it bring viewers happiness while giving them a casual and comforting layer in their homes perhaps by bringing them back to a favorite vacation spot, family tradition, or a past childhood memory."