This is the latest accumulation of shapes and objects in my studio. It feels like a 3-ring circus, at times, and at other just a really interesting conversation at a lively table of friends. Since moving to London and meeting lots of new people, I am often asked 'What kind of art do you make?' I can find myself flummoxed by this simple question. I can't really say just painting, drawing, or sculpture. 

My latest attempt is something like 'I make paintings and drawings that are sculptural.' 

Anyway, I find making the work much more interesting than trying to make up words to describe it or, worse, explain it. Are chefs required to describe their food as a way of helping us experience it? No. We just enter into the sensuous experience presented and revel in it. 

February was a good month to get stuck in at the studio and just produce work. Since the completion of the Biking in Berlin works, I have been dancing between several different streams of work not sure how they might coalesce. I am noticing that more and more in the studio the feeling of the process of making is as important as getting to the final work. I want to the process itself, the method of making, to be satisfying. After past injuries, it also has to be fairly non-toxic and good for my body (ie no long hours of crouching on the floor to pour paint). 

These individual boards have been prepared with many layers of gesso and plaster with sanding inbetween. The intent was to make paintings on them but the objects came together as a whole in a different way than I imagined so I am testing out this version of the work. 

There is something peaceful and satisfying about this stack both in its solidity and its provisional nature. 

It's not unusual to find impromptu pairings such as these to come together in the studio and hang out for a few weeks. What happens next here? Is this inspiration for a new work? Or is this the work? 

I'm very interested in the casual chance events like this and the humility it takes for me as an artist to just accept that perhaps there's nothing else that needs to be added to this situation. 

Last Friday I biked around Southbank over to the Tate Modern to get some relief from the winter blues.
Found a room with three of these huge, bright, loosely painted works by Cy Twombly. Almost as good as standing in the full sun! The swing of the marks combined with the scale gives the sense that a giant hand created them. I enjoyed being dwarfed by the scale.

In the same room, I was surprised to come across a set of Twombly's sculptures with which I am less familiar. The works seem to be made of flimsy, disregarded materials but on closer inspection are actually cast bronze painted with oil. The shift from lightweight to lasting causes an engagement and re-examination that I enjoyed.

And one additional highlight was the very simple yet transcendent work by Richard Tuttle. A piece of bond paper so closely adhered to the wall it appears to be painted on yet hovers with a vague physicality. 

All of these works beautifully connected me to their objectness and the present moment - a perfect antidote to the spacey feeling of winter blues. 

This month I move into my new studio in London! Haymerle Studios is located in the heart of South London, close to South London Gallery and Burgess Park. I look forward to settling in and getting to know the spots on the South London Art Map. 

Locating Place
Group Exhibition
Salve Regina University
Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Nov 8 - Dec 16, 2012

I thought I had completed the entire guidebook with the Biking in Berlin series of 79 works. This fall in preparing for the London move, I found several more guidebook pages that had not been used. I decided to complete the series using absolutely every page. The index pages initially weren't very inspiring but I'm loving the way this one above came out. 

And this one might be one of my new favorites. 

I love it when this happens. Clear connections between work that was made at different times with different materials. The work on the left is new this year, Flag. The work on the right is from Boston days, Poured Paint Puddle on Stilts.

I presented my work at the Thinking Through Drawing symposium at Wimbledon School of Art in London. It was an interesting gathering of disparate professionals all of whom use drawing. One of my favorite moments was this impromptu installation of a sculptural paper bag used to deflect errant sunlight from hitting the slides. 

One of the best drawings seen in Wimbledon was this poignant worn away walk symbol further enhanced by the chopped up surface of the asphalt. 

Documenta 13, Kassel, Germany, Summer 2012

Thanks in part to a grant from Spike Associates, I was able to spend three days in Kassel taking in as much as I possibly could of this eclectic exposition. Documenta is sited in the city of Kassel in established venues such as Documentahalle, The Orangerie, Friedericianum, Neugalerie as well as in the train station, office buildings and disused spaces throughout the city.

Unlike the Venice Biennale, there are no country pavilions but rather the whole project is created by a team led by Artistic Director Carolyn Christov Bakargiev. The overall themes were:

With Hope
Under Siege
In Retreat
On the Stage

As my husband David and I discussed the works we'd seen we created a matrix in which to place the works to help get some perspective on the relationships between the works and how they connected with the different themes. This proved to be an interesting way to analyze and discuss the qualities of the various works.

This article at ArtInfo gives a good sense of the exhibition. 

And this is a good video overview.

Carroll and Sons, Boston, MA, USA   July 4-Sept 1, 2012
Opening: Friday, July 6, 2012, 5:30-7:30pm

18m Salon, Berlin, Germany  July 18 - August 12, 2012
Opening: Wednesday, July 18, 18:00-19:30pm