The silkscreening technique I use mirrors the layers and weight of the earthy plant textures of my mid-western prairies and woodlands, which comprise a body of work I have been exploring for the last twenty years

The prairie around me is a unique ecosystem, supporting plants and wildlife, like the endangered Karner blue butterfly, that are not found in other environments. I have a deep affinity and respect for these beautiful, precious plants, for how their complexity, integrity improve the water, soil, and air quality-ultimately preserving our eco systems and ecological communities. I am painfully aware that if the host plant, lupine, dies out, so does the stunning Karner blue butterfly.

After years of drawing and painting, I’ve found silkscreening plays off my background in design while giving me a richness of color and surface quality that goes beyond paint, yet echoes the fluid flexibility of paint—a vital quality for the inherent movement in my work.

I use a traditional silkscreen process, meticulously building up 20 to 100 layers of color, one “pull” at a time—from transparent to opaque to the shimmer of iridescent inks—as I interweave the background and core images of a piece with alternating textures of photography, drawing and surface painting.

Ideas come alive from personal experiences in my own native garden, or while visiting the healthy, open spaces of a local prairie or woodland. As I walk down a path and into a single breath taking moment of native beauty, I am moved by the big power of small plants, with their endless layers and textures, to sustain our world and give us so much.