How can a drawing affect space and space affect a drawing? I explore an expanded notion of drawing, one in which the medium opens up into a reciprocal dialogue with its surroundings, each extending and redefining the other. My multi-dimensional works are meditations on Taoism.  The contrasting male and female elements interplayed in my works on paper and installations are metaphors for the philosophy’s many facets. Avis Newman's idea, "a mark is a sign of thought", also informs my practice. The Taoist fluctuation between opposites acts as a propeller for my drawings. By following the principles of Taoism as I work, a drawing effloresces in all directions, and a flow of things emerges. I seek balance in the spaces in between for greater reflection.

Avis Newman writes that the act of drawing is, “as close to the action of an artist’s thought as one can get,”. The mark is the first attempt of translating an idea. In my works, they are made with string, tape, tiles, moldings, shelving units, shadows, and anything else that relates to a given space.  Drawing with materials opens the door to new ways of perceiving space and experiencing mark making.

My work is influenced by Lao Tzu’s Taoist script the Tao Te Ching and Luce Irigaray’s contemporary feminist work, Elemental Passions. Both works poetically contemplate how opposites can be balanced in terms of gender relations. This is gradually achieved by overcoming the closed masculine and yielding to the softer, open feminine side of the Tao. The formal elements of drawing like line, shade, and shape act as metaphors in my multi-dimensional works. Hard and soft marks, tones, shapes, and edges signify male and female. They interact in continually changing states of tension and flow. This push and pull action perpetuates a drawing forward. Moments of stillness and balance occur when conflicting art elements align and harmonize.

In my installations, contrasting edges and shapes are interrelated throughout a gallery.  All materials rest on the floor, leveling any hierarchy. Small scale combinations of opposing materials, called Conglomerates, set the stage for dialogues between male and female. They are built at intersection points and invite thoughtful movement and pause through a space.

Conglomerates are a microcosm of what happens in a room sized drawing. Composed of straight and curved edges, tiles, moldings and shelving units; these structures stand in teetering states of balance.  Rounded feminine curves invite unrestricted movement while upright masculine cause abrupt stops. To allow for more flexible exchange among genders, varied moldings are placed between to act as joints. Straight lines are drawn onto soft shapes to add strength while gestural ones relax the hard. Shadows are also recorded in many shades of gray. Refraction is employed to break lines and tones past these barriers. Marks ebb and flow in response to different edges, often fragmenting to keep going. All of these interventions yield to the all-encompassing feminine side of the Tao and an expanded notion of drawing.

The stage is set for an expanded drawing. Marks meander outward from structures into the surrounding space. They vacillate as they move over distinct surfaces.  Lines run up walls and refract around corners. These manifestations create pathways though an installation.  Shapes and tones echo throughout a space. Diverse dimensions come together. The floor, walls, and ceiling converge with interventions; blurring what is art and architecture. Contrasting lines, shapes, and tones fragment and form alliances. Male and female converge and break apart. At times, a “flow of things” emerges when elements fall in line.

Like the fluctuating Tao, relationships in my works shift over time in the spaces in between. These changes open up new relationships, so that drawing and space continue to extend and redevelop the other.