Peachy the Magazine February March 2015 | Page 51

ARTISAN SPOTLIGHT behind my intentions as an artist. My hope is to provide more than one entry point for viewers to “enter” the process of engaging with my work. Some people better connect with words than images; others may be turned off by the presence of text next to an abstract piece. Either way, the poems stir up something that would otherwise not be considered. Though my poems and paintings are works that can ultimately stand alone, I cannot call a painting “finished” unless words have unfolded onto my page about it. And I cannot write until the process of painting has occurred and left me with an experience to unravel. The words flow like the marks that I lay onto a surface. In both writing and painting, I let loose all the things I am containing (or searching for). Only then do I proceed to tweak them into a final form—a form that will imply meaning and leave space for questions. My hope is that the images would be a place for others to pause and consider, too. n FEBRUARY MARCH 2015 49