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Whether as a child or during the first part of your career, who or what were your earliest artistic influences?

I was raised primarily by my Mother and Grandmother – both are painters. They were my first introduction into visual thinking. The

environment was ripe for experimentation and visual adventures that sparked my curiosity. With full encouragement my perception of space and proportion began at this time. Through careful critique, ideas were exchanged and a visual communication began. It became my language for life.

How have those influences carried through to your work today?

The visual language experienced as a child continually propels my curiosity and
inspires me to push open my mind. It is a search for the ultimate high. Creating spontaneous free hand cut work is the best of both worlds for me. I use my meditative concentration combined with the knowledge of absolute freedom to follow my subconscious and create what appears as tightly controlled and planned work. I enjoy the irony.

You grew up in Chicago, inspired by the architectural world of Frank Lloyd Wright and then later moved to New York City – how have these different urban landscapes affected the work you create?

The landscape of Chicago always intrigued me. The light reflected from the lake gives the cityscape a unique personality you can feel. The skies are big – plenty of space for imagination. New York is an emotion. The energy seeping from every cornerstone, every façade… all the way to the sky is intoxicating. The feeling is a black and white movie shot in the rain with glistening buildings – as sexy and elegant as little black dresses on their way to a cocktail party. The cityscape is everything and everyone. It is the ultimate inspiration.

Would you say your pieces are driven by form or content? As in, does it develop from an idea/seek to express an idea, or is it more about formal aspects, like shape/color etc.

My work does not seek to find a specific end. I create these images from my subconscious, free from the constraints of preconceived conclusion; to open the mind to contemplation and examination. I create to inspire the imagination. I deconstruct work with a shotgun to open the mind to addressing violence and elegance simultaneously.

In your most recent series “CUT – WORK” and “SHOTGUN” – freehand cut paper using surgical blades and shotgun blasts – was the key part of the creative process the unorthodox methods used and medium?

The tools involved in creating the “CUT-WORK” and “SHOTGUN” images are my evolutionary process in experimentation. On one level, I enjoy the fact that the sharp knife I use is called “surgical scalpel.” This implies that the paper could be human skin. The cuts are the layers that occur in a life. The shadow and their vibrations are the moments that pass in each living second. The SHOTGUN appears to damage that life but instead it overcomes the presumed damage and is a new image … a new idea. If you did not know these tools were used to make the pieces they would appear only mysterious, just as humanity is.

What inspired you to then incorporate bi-color and tri-color combinations into the pieces?
 
Color is crucial part of the human experience. Color effects us emotionally, brings joy, sadness and contemplation… I began infusing with neutral shades… to create a soothing visual sensation warm and inviting … The volume was pumped up with the introduction of pure cadmium red and intense Prussian blue coupled with stark white to blast out from the confines of the wall. To me this is a natural progression needed to delve further into the human psyche.

Can you explain the “MIRROR” series?

I introduced this concept in the “CUT-WORK” 2010 exhibition. The premise is simple; the cut pieces that make the reverse relief used in the “CUT-WORK” series are rebuilt to create a relief. Creating a “MIRROR” effect not only in imagery but in shape as well. Just as if you are looking into your mirror you see more than just a pure reflection – there are many layers in one reflection.

How do you think American culture and landscape is conveyed through your work?

The “CUT-WORK” series is evolution, imagination, freedom and discovery -- the very essence of the human experience.