The Crowd Series is composed of 12 works of art that contemplate two seemingly opposing facets of life in public - Strife and Secret. I have previously exhibited the works as an alternation between the two themes, but each piece works as a unique piece of artwork as well, independent from the body of work as a whole. Secret is about finding private moments in a crowd, a sense of peace on the public stage, whether alone or in private conversation. Strife can take on the overt form of people in conflict, but also the more subtle form of a crowd displaying ill intent, or of a child crying, neglected by the people around her. Both Secrets and Strife inhabit our communities, side by side, often hand in hand, providing both tension and comfort in our daily lives.

Eight individual, free-standing figures make up the Parade Series. This is my homage to these great community events - the small neighborhood parades of memory, the big holiday parades of tradition, and the jazz funeral parades in New Orleans. Several years ago I attended my first Mardi Gras in New Orleans. As much as I completely fell in love with the spectacle of the big parades, I was even more taken with the smaller neighborhood parades which bring everybody together and delight all New Orleanians, from all parts of the city. Umbrellas shade the eight figures, as a nod to a signature Mardi Gras tradition, //but also as a protection from the worry, strife and turmoil of the world around.

Pineapple is the first of the pieces created for my Kauai series. For this painting I wanted to open up my color palate quite a bit, and focus on creating an image within a patchwork of squares and circles. Small silver charms are sewn in the center of each circle, to give focus to the circular part of the motif. This piece was created for my wife - I wanted to create a big five foot pineapple just for her. She has a passion for all things pineapple - the fruit, food made with it, and anything that includes pineapple imagery.

Rooster is the second of my Kauai Impression paintings. I continued the circle motif in this piece, and created a double layer with the coils and the hibiscus imagery. The small canvasses for the blustery palm trees are attached to the piece with blocks that raise them about two inches from the main canvas. I created this piece for my son, who is completely obsessed with all of the wild chickens that swarm Kauai, ever present - even when you can’t see them, they can always be heard.

Wild Boar is the Kauai Impression painting which I created for myself. The island is awash with wild pigs, running free in the mountains, and often served in the dining rooms. When on Kauai I will happily eat Kalua pork every single day that I am there, for all three meals if possible, much to the chagrin of my family. I played with the circle motif a little on this one, turning the background squares 45 degrees, so that the circles offset, creating a slightly denser pattern, which I think works better for this smaller piece.

Surfer Girl is the last of the Kauai Impression paintings. I decided to tackle the circle motif as a purely abstract pattern, which covers all of the primary canvas, with a cowre shells sewn onto each circle, except for the four lizards, which can be seen through the cutouts on the four surfer girl canvasses. I employed these circles on all of the Kauai Impression canvasses as a reference to the nature of island life - the island is a uniquely contained unit, supplying all that is needed for life within it’s shores. This piece is also inspired by my daughter, who, it turns out, is a natural and avid surfer.

The identity series is about how we define ourselves by the personal charms and totems that we collect and present to the world. Each portrait is constructed of 25 canvasses hung together, each canvas displaying varying layers of color. We are defined by these collections of layers, and also by the small items that we identify as meaningful to ourselves. Each canvas has a small charm stitched to it, representative of these things that we gather and hold close, little markers of what we care about and who we are. For “Identity no. 1” I chose a lighter color palate for the final overlay of color, offsetting the darker underpainted squares below. I also chose unexpected charms to define the woman depicted by the piece, exemplifying that who we are is not defined by what people expect of us. “Identity no. 2” features an image of a man, painted in a warmer and darker color scheme than the woman in the companion piece. Again, the charms attached to the canvasses are often unexpected, at times defining the man in ways at odds with traditional symbols of masculinity.

For Identity #1 I choose a lighter color palate for the final overlay of color, offsetting darker underpainted squares below. I chose unexpected charms to define the woman depicted by the piece, exemplifying that who we are is not defined by what people expect of us.

Identity # 2 features an image of a man, painted in a warmer and darker color scheme than the woman in Identity #1. Again, the charms attached to the piece are often unexpected, at timed defining the man in ways at odds with traditional symbols of masculinity.

The Work Series is a collection of three canvasses depicting unfavorable work situations from the last century. The first of these pieces is Teenage Sharecroppers. This work depicts two boys who worked as subsistence farmers at the turn of the 20th century to support their families. Child labor was more common at that time, particularly away from the cities in poor, rural places. The jars hanging in front of the boys contain a variety of childish things that they would have been denied to them in their circumstance - small trinkets and toys, and scraps of poetry that they would most likely not have been able to read.

The three men depicted in Idle Hands are out of work men in Louisiana during the thirties, at the depths of the Great Depression. The unemployment rate in the American south during the Depression was often as high as 30%, but for men of color the rate could be twice or three times as high. Thankfully times have changed, but remembering the hardships from 100 years ago can inform and give perspective on labor, racial and financial issues in present times.

Factory Girls depict three children who were forced to work at the turn of the century to support their families, before modern labor laws were enacted. The girls in this painting would work 6 days a week, 12 hour shifts, at an oyster factory on the English coast. There were no educational opportunities for these children. Such as with the companion piece “Teenage Sharecroppers”, the jars hanging in front of the children contain small trinkets, toys, jewelry and scraps of poetry - a variety of things not necessarily availale to them in their childhoods.

Non-conformist was originally a study for a larger work of art, to work out some the formatting and aesthetic issues of the piece. I felt that it was so successful, and I enjoyed the concept so much, that it developed into a fully formed piece of it’s own. It is a study about people who go their own way. The imagery in this piece focuses on those individuals who choose to remove themselves from the crowd, who find their place outside of societal norms, and who shout into the din of conformity.

With Balancing Act I wanted to capture, along with the image of the performer, some of the wonder of the circus. To this end I suspended the strings go beads, along with small charms of images from the circus. The vertical lines created by the thread holding the charms creates a visual contrast the the topsy turvy nature of the circus performer.

Trapeze features an image of a woman hanging from the trapeze, employing a staggering amount of strength, grace and fearlessness. The early 20th century was sort of the golden age for the circus, and the trapeze artists really exemplified the bravery and glamour of those early performers. I chose to attach the rusted tin stars to lend the piece a bit of history and nostalgia. Although they are faded with age now, 100 years ago the stars would have been bright and shiny, and employed as a way to add a little glitz and excitement to a night at the circus.