“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

I grew up in a small rural town in Hawaii where I first learned to paint in the great “outdoor” studio: nature. Nature is essential to my life, and the awe inspiring environment that surrounds my home/studio in Port Angeles gives meaning to my life every day to create works that accentuate the impact of our actions on nature. Alterations (such as habitat destruction, deforestation, climate change or neighborhood makeovers) are important themes in my art.

To that end, I have used various mediums–sculpture, painting and printmaking—to create art that recognizes the fragility of our planet and contributes to this universal dialogue of living hand in hand with the duality (the necessity to also thrive socially and economically) that coexists in the face of constant change in our environments.

My current series of collagraph prints entitled, “Gone Trees” were created after I discovered the forest near my home was logged. The imagery is dreamlike, reminiscent of the trees now gone–landscapes of ghost trees. To create the rich textures of the landscape, I prefer using the collagraph printmaking process, i.e., applying plaster of Paris to cardboard to create the print plate. The wet plaster is easy to manipulate and most effective in producing the rich textures found in nature. After the plaster is dry, I also etch lines into the plaster using simple sharp tools like nails to create finer details. Another important aspect of the work is the use of the “negative space,” i.e., the un-inked area of the plate, to create 3-dimensional relief impressions of trees—the “gone trees.”

“The regional icons—salmon and trees and mountains and water—spring from the elements. If people here become too far removed from those basic sources of life, then they lose the bond to a better world.” The Good Rain by Timothy Egan