Wildfire Suppression Series (2020-2021)

Although ecologically intertwined, we each perceive different experiences. This painting series reflects on the California Wildfires of 2020 as an ecological disaster and a metaphor for gaps in – or perhaps willfully forgotten or suppressed – cultural knowledge. Blind spots, shaped by the capitalist patriarchy, influence how we relate to one another and how we treat the planet. The year of 2020 highlighted the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories – as well as uncovered for a wider set of the population knowledge that fueled the uprising against white supremacy, state-sanctioned violence, and systemic racism. As a white woman, with this body of work I contemplate the portions of narrative that have been erased, impeded, or ignored and how this manifests in my own life.

Sky Parameters Series (2019)

Sky Parameters is a body of seven infographic paintings based on a snapshot of scientific data of air composition in the Troposphere in Hennepin County, where I live and work.

The central piece in the series (entitled Sky Parameters - Overall Air Composition) reflects the overall air composition we breathe across the planet, which is 78.09% nitrogen (shown in midnight blue), 20.95% oxygen (bright blue), 0.93% argon (teal), and 0.04% corresponds to all of the other chemicals (fluorescent yellow line) – the compounds that contribute to climate change, smog, visibility, and respiratory health.

The other paintings in the series break out compounds that are found in this small percentage, depicting emissions sources of particles in Hennepin County including carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The data used was abstracted from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2014 State and County Emissions Sources. The color palettes of the paintings are abstracted from images of sunset and sunrise in Hennepin County.

Airdrops (2019)

In the Airdrops series, the paintings' bands of color refer to sources of particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air in locations that have experienced catastrophic environmental events. The colors are abstracted from images of sunrise in those places.

Airdrops: Minneapolis PM2.5, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 8" x 8" x 2"

Airdrops: London PM2.5, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 8" x 8" x 2"

Airdrops: Los Angeles PM2.5, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 8" x 8" x 2"

Airdrops: New York PM2.5, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 8" x 8" x 2"

Airdrops: Puerto Rico PM2.5, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 8" x 8" x 2"

Aether Series (2016-2018)

My work evokes multi-sensory experiences heightened in solitude, creating a space that is quiet – but also rich with emotion and memory. This series of paintings started as a meditation on the role natural silence plays in personal well-being. Over the past several years, I have been re-forging my connection with nature through spending time in wild places and reflecting back on those experiences through painting.

To create these paintings, I build up dozens of layers of color on wet canvas by brushing small amounts of acrylic paint with other media. The resulting richness, subtlety, and depth of color push the limitations of acrylic media.

Free Time Series (2016-2018)

I am always looking up. So, although these paintings are not specific representations of place, they are an abstract reference to sky and weather. I grew up in Minnesota and have kept this place as my home base for more than 30 years, so I am intensely aware of environmental changes that are affecting ecosystems in this region. Weather is the ultimate in small talk, but what once was an effortless topic can now be a point of polarization and anxiety because of climate change. We chat about the weather as a safe subject, perhaps, but also because weather is important to us physically and psychologically.