MUSEUM DIARIES

MUSEUM DIARIES documents my interaction with works of art I am drawn to. I transpose these three-dimensional works into my own two-dimensional style, resulting in pieces that transcend mediums, cultures, experiences, and time.

In 2012, after more than 20 years of teaching art, raising children, and running my own business in decorative painting, I joined the Peace Corps, teaching English in Azerbaijan.  Though one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had, I found myself struggling with a lack of artistic freedom and personal expression.

Upon my return home, I answered my need to create with an intense artistic immersion.  I was relentless and insatiable, reacquainting myself with museums of art and history, opera, ballet, dance, music, theatre, even taking a 10-week workshop at the MoMa in NYC.

At the same time of this exploration, I was constrained by my environment.  My studio was gone. For nearly two years, I was unable to produce and create the way I could before.  This constraint is what drove me to a new artistic perspective: that of timeless imperfection. 

My work has guidelines that haven’t been fully erased; areas of chipped varnish.  You can see the preliminary mapping of shapes and composition; the layers of work over "mistakes'' and irregularities.  

Since my return to the creative world, I have broken away from the boundaries of the expected and accepted framework of art presentation. This — the exploration and embracing of the artistic process — is what I call my timeless imperfection.

Border text references the original works’ histories, cultures, and artists. Inquire for more details.

GONG - THE SOUND OF SUCCESS (on White)

27.5” x 26.5”, various paints and gold leaf on canvas with metal hardware

Inspired by gong manufactured by Pho Musical Instruments, Unlimited/Chronos frame • 31.75” h x 30.25” w overall • Bronze & black enamel

$2,400

MOBIL (1934)

Approx. 36" x 29", mixed media on gesso-stiffened burlap with metal hardware

Inspired by mobile by Alexander Calder (American, 1898 -1976) • Nickle-plated wood, steel | Smith College Museum of Art

$2,800

COQ DE CLOCHER (STEEPLE COCK)

Approx. 22.5" x 30.5", mixed media on gesso-stiffened fabric with metal hardware

Inspired by wrought iron and inlaid copper sculpture • Burgundy, France (17th century) | Barnes Foundation

$2,400

BENCUK STAFF

50" x 16", mixed media on gesso-stiffened fabric with metal hardware

Inspired by staff belonging to Azeri regional leader, possibly Shahverdi Khan, member of the Ziyadoghlu branch of the Qajar Dynasty (1747 – 1805) | National Museum of Azerbaijan

$2,200

NORTHWEST GLASS BASKET

21" x 19", mixed media on gesso-stiffened muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by glass vessel by Dale Chihuly (b. 1941) | Chihuly Garden & Glass

$1,100

DYE ANTELOPE MASK

35" x 22", mixed media on gesso-stiffened fabric with metal hardware

Inspired by wood mask with pigment and stain • Côte d’Ivoire, Southern Guro (20th century) | Seattle Art Museum

SOLD

ROSES

36" x 26", mixed media on gesso-stiffened muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by sculpture by Dan Flavin (American, 1939 – 1996) • Decorative Aerolux gas-charged lightbulb, ceramic flowerpot, cord, and light switch (1964) | MoMA

$2,600

INRŌ WITH OJIMI

26" x 19.5", mixed media on gesso-stiffened muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by Japanese container, approx. 4" high • Red lacquer with gold, and mother of pearl • Made specifically for Samurai (ca.1790) | Yale Peabody Museum

$1,900

AS LONG AS THE SUN LASTS

Approx. 39" x 29", mixed media on cotton twill with metal hardware

Inspired by 26' mobil by Alex DaCorte (American, b. 1980) • Brightly colored stainless steel, aluminum, and fiberglass (2021) | MET Museum of Art, Roof Garden

$2,800

PARROT BOWL

8" x 8.5", mixed media on fabric with metal hardware

Inspired by pottery from Le Dynasty (1428 - 1788) • Found in shipwreck near HoiAn, ca. 1999 | Yale University Art Gallery

$800.00

CORNET-TROMPE IN D (1862)

28.25" x 24.25", mixed media on gesso-stiffened textured tablecloth with metal hardware

Inspired by sculpture by Alphonse Sax (1822 - 1874) b. in Belgium, active in France • Brass | MET Museum of Art

$2,200

HALIBUT HOOK

21" x 24", mixed media on gesso-stiffened muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by hook from Pacific Northwest culture • Nootka and Coastal Salish • Cedar, sinu, and bone (ca. early 1800s) | Jefferson Museum of Art & History

$1,800

INNER SURFACES

33.5” x 27”, mixed media on fabric with metal hardware

Inspired by sculpture by David David Figueroa (American, b. 1972) • approx. 6’ • Found wood from canoe & black steel | Polk Art Museum, Lakeland, FL

$2,200

PAINTED PUEBLO DRUM

16.5" x 16", mixed media on gesso-stiffened muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by drum sold (and possibly made) by Domingo Abeyte (b. 1855) • Tesque Pueblo, New Mexico (early 1900s) | Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

$1,100

VESSEL #2601

26" x 19", mixed media on gesso-stiffened linen with metal hardware

Inspired by pottery by June Schwarcz (American, 1918-2015) • Electroformed foil, copper wire, and enamel (1995) | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

$2,100

GONG - THE SOUND OF SUCCESS (on Magenta)

27.5” x 26.5”, various paints and gold leaf on canvas with metal hardware

Inspired by gong manufactured by Pho Musical Instruments, Unlimited/Chronos frame • 31.75” h x 30.25” w overall • Bronze & black enamel

$2,400

PILGRIM FLASK

24" x 15", mixed media on muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by yellow glass flask • Roman–Byzantine, Syria (5th – 6th centuries) | Yale University Art Gallery

$1,800

LION CUBS (DIPTYCH)

20" x 48", mixed media on fabric with metal hardware

Inspired by quartzite lion cubs, Egypt, 1st Dynasty (3,100 – 2,900 BCE) | MET Museum of Art

$2,600

CEREMONIAL SHIELD

52.5" x 16", mixed media on muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by wood and rattan shield • Indonesia, West Papua (late 19th – early 20th centuries) | Yale University Art Gallery

$2,200

HARPOON

10.5" x 35.5", mixed media on gesso-stiffened fabric with metal hardware

Inspired by "Temple Toggle Iron," designed by Lewis Temple • b. 1800 in VA, in slavery • Made in Bedford, MA (1848) | Mystic Seaport

$1,000

#28 MORAY HILL

30" x 16", mixed media on muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by 144" x 62" installation by Michelle Stuart (American, b. 1933) • Graphite, earth, and rocks on muslin (1974) | Whitney Museum of American Art

$2,000

BAMBOO FOREST #2

50" x 12", mixed media on muslin, mounted on canvas

Inspired by special MET exhibition conceived by Andrew Bolton (MET curator) • Phillippe LeSourd, lighting designer | China: Through the Looking Glass Exhibit, MET Museum of Art

SOLD

NEW YORK, 1917

50” x 22”, mixed media on gesso-stiffened muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by sculpture by Man Ray (American, 1890 – 1976) • First created from wood strips in 1917; recreated in chrome bronze bars 1966 | Whitney Museum of American Art

SOLD

MY OLD RUSSIAN IMPERIAL ICE CRYSTAL PENDANT #2

12” x 8.5”, mixed media on gesso-stiffened cotton twill with metal hardware

Inspired by necklace • Original design by P.C. Fabergé (1846 -1920) for Dr. E Nobel • Silver and crystal with transparent cord • Suggests winter in Russia | MET Museum of Art gift shop

$800

LIGHTWEEDS (TRIPTYCH)

21 " x 61", mixed media on muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by installation by Simon Heijdens (Dutch, b. 1978) • Custom kinetic software, projected onto wall (ca. 2015) | MoMA

$2,600

GIRAFFE

34” x 21.5'“, mixed media on muslin with metal hardware

Inspired by sculpture by Arno Goossens (Dutch, b. 1950) • Bronze (2015) | Agora Gallery, NYC

$1,200