Q: What inspires your art?
A: "Although what inspires me has changed over time, I would say that the core of my experience comes from the persistence of nature and the human spirit. Where I grew up in Greenwich played a role in what I eventually painted. I lived across the street from a farm and found being at home in the visceral natural world much different than the more structured focused cerebral world of the Academy, and I was grateful for that difference. In many ways, they balanced each other. Over the years, artists of the past and present have provided continued encouragement and support and have inspired me to tap into the common wonder, energy and mystery of life that makes their own work so magnificent.

In the 80's, I made large colorful expressionistic paintings of landscapes that were based on sketches done from my travels abroad. This vision morphed in the 90's and a central character (the self) emerged from nature, depicting life's cycle of growth and decay. Since 2001, my work has become more abstract as my vision shifted in construction, and I have taken on more diverse universal themes.

Common threads in all the work is the language of mark-making and the passion for the process of painting. Further inspiration comes through the belief that art and life are inextricably bound together. My landscapes and urban scenes address the sky, and on land, the opposing forces of movement and stasis. Whether in the land of technology, physiology, phenology or the scientific, my central image, a common flower form, navigates a universe where gravity and weightlessness kinetically vibrate, order and chaos live side-by-side and all matter floats."

Q: How did GA prepare you for your career in art?
A: "At Greenwich Academy, I was a B- student in art. We didn't have much of an art program then. It was in an attic room in the main building with a low ceiling and lots of tables. I think I became an artist because I felt I had something to say, and I wanted to express it in color and form. My "will to do" came in part from the teachers I had at Greenwich Academy."

Q: Did you have any mentors at GA that inspired you?
A: "Yes, several. The greatest gift of education GA gave to me was imparting the belief that I could achieve what I set out to do. The teachers that stand out in my mind, who gave me the sense that my voice was respected, were: Mr. Kostbar (American Literature) who challenged me intellectually and assumed all of us could write a forty page paper about a writer with less than two spelling mistakes! Mrs. Ambrose (World Literature) whose inflammatory way of teaching kept me riveted with her gutteral Italian voice and with her excitement over what she was teaching. Mrs. Kingsley (History) who gave me and others the feeling that we were the most intelligent and interesting students she had ever known. She gave me the power to imagine history, and through that experience, she opened the door to an infinite world. Mrs. Austin-Small (Algebra) for teaching me the value of exactitude and the rewards of preparation. Mr. Patterson (French) for his consistent repetition and demand for me to speak French correctly (I ended up living in a French dorm in college because of him). All of these teachers inspired me to expand my intellectual curiousity, to explore my artistic vision and to use my passion for art to teach others."

Q: What do you miss the most about GA?
A: "Losing track of a few good friends. Mary Worthington, where are you?"

Q: What is your advice for students and alumnae interested in pursuing art as a career?
A: "If you decide to be a studio artist, do it for yourself. Don't seek a public. Let the public seek you by what you do. Learn as much as you can early on, and then spend as much time as you can making, expressing, crafting your work because the process of "doing" is your reward, but don't forget to have and live a life. If you discover you are not a studio artist, pick a career in the arts where you will have some freedom of expression. Be bold with the creative life you have and hold the world in perspective as it's getting smaller every year and it needs more wisdom every minute."