It’s after dinner and tonight I’m working indoors. I look into my boxes of lights and pull out red and yellow. I place the lights around my room, across my sofa, over the chair and onto the floor with a rising sense of anticipation. I am about to embark on an adventure wandering through unknown passages with my camera, completely absorbed by the moment and ready to play. I turn off the house lights and all that’s familiar fades.
My camera becomes an extension of my body. I am moving around my lights, I move in closer, step back and as I experiment my curiosity is awakened. Did I catch something? I look at the viewfinder and gasp, the power of the image stops me and opens up a gap between my in breath and my out breath as I’m lifted into a deep realm of healing.
I run the process through its paces, follow its lead, different lights, color combinations, movements of my arm, my body. I’m fascinated by the impermanence of light, of what is not visible that suddenly appears. I’m looking for what renews every fiber of my being, makes my mind race, my heart beat faster, where each image elevates my search for the essence of light.
Whether it’s indoors with my intentional arrangements or outdoors in the wild, whether it’s here at home or abroad, whether it’s my abstract or my representational works, I see and seek to capture the radiance and light in people and in all that I photograph.
I know how certain images can be a catalyst for change and renewal. I know when an image works because I feel as if I’ve stepped into a moment between time and space where the divine becomes accessible and sacred beauty reveals Itself.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I was raised in a family of artists with a deep aesthetic sense in a home where beauty was paramount. It was apparent in the way the flowers were arranged, the daily table settings and in details all around the house. I was exposed to a wide range of art both ancient and modern. I learned to see beauty everywhere.
It was in high school at the Barlow School, where my creative spirit was cherished and nourished that I began photographing passionately in my junior year. I continued to study photography in college, first at Rochester Institute of Technology and then at Philadelphia College of Art (now The University of the Arts). After my undergraduate degree, I taught a photography class and discovered my love for teaching. I returned to The University of the Arts to get my master’s in education which led me to 40 years of teaching in elementary art, woodworking, and parent education.
Besides the different photographic series I work on regularly - informal portraits, reflections, shadows, etc. I’ve always been fascinated with and have explored the many ways I can capture movement with my camera.
I am inspired by others who share a commitment to changing the injustices in our society. I am one of the founders of the New York Women’s Foundation, a cross cultural alliance that supports women, girls and their families in economic, gender and racial justice. I am in awe of these grassroots leaders as they create change in their communities against enormous obstacles.
I am captivated by children; their directness, fearlessness, spontaneity and playfulness encourage me to keep the child alive within myself. In the field of education, I have advocated for social and emotional learning as well as bias free teaching to decrease discrimination based on gender, race/ethnicity, disability and family income.
Beauty nourishes me. I want to share my joy and my spirit through my photographs so others can feel the magic and mystery that I experience. I photograph what inspires me both around the world and at home. And as an artist, I practice what I always encourage in my students: to take bold risks and trust your instincts.
ABOUT
