Portfolio

An Attempted Unkindness 

Limited Edition: 8x12 print (100), Metal: 16x24 (50), 24x36 (40) , 40x60 (10)

The title of this constructed imagery piece plays on the dual meanings of words. On one level, the collective noun for ravens is an unkindness, and the scene depicts two of them. A pair is more than an individual, yet not quite a group—in other words, an “attempted” unkindness.

On another level, An Attempted Unkindness alludes to human relationships. While differences and conflict are inevitable in any relationship, cruelty and abuse are not. Other people may attempt to treat us with unkindness, but we do not have to accept it. Even though it’s not always easy, we can choose to leave harmful relationships, establish clear boundaries with others, and focus on self-empowerment. August 2024

There is Wonder In The World

Limited Edition: 16x20 matted print (100), 16x24 metal print (200), 24x36 metal print (200)

My first constructed imagery piece since Trying to Stay Afloat was inspired by Satoshi Yabuuchi’s “Shinji-ko Rabbits,” a sculpture in Matsue, Japan. There are myths of the rabbit in the moon across various cultures, with connotations including longevity, generosity, and sacrifice. On a flight home, I was able to clearly make out the rabbit on the surface of the moon, which spurred me to create this work. It expresses the hope, wonder, and new beginnings. April 2021

The Beginning

Award Winning

This is the first piece of constructed imagery that I created. At the beginning of grad school, I was going through a difficult period in life (missing family, home, and all that was familiar). I wanted to be carried away. Sunlight shined through my Boston apt and I created this piece. I learned in our darkest moments, there is always light. (2011)

Dream Weaver

Limited Edition: 8x12 Print matted to 16x20 (150), 16x24 metal print (250), 24x36 metal print (200) 

“Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright was one of the songs of my childhood. However, it only took on special significance for me last year, when I started listening to it while studying the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali. Something drew me to the song’s intensely spiritual lyrics after more than four decades, and the same thing inspired me to create this piece.

Wanting to know what this mysterious force was, I decided to research the song’s background. Once I did, everything fell into place. According to Wright, the song’s eponymous Dream Weaver is God. Many traditions ascribe creativity to a divine spark that inspires human beings to create art, and I personally believe that there is a force in the universe greater than ourselves that bestows upon us our artistic gifts. Upon completing this piece, I gained new appreciation for my artistic abilities and the power it gives me to express myself.  July 2021

Deep Blue Sea

Crafted entirely from paper, Deep Blue Sea was inspired by my childhood memories of swimming in the Pacific Ocean off Hawai'i. A meditation on the mysteries of solitude, this piece evokes both the fear and the exhilaration of drifting far from shore.

The Night We Met: Part 1

The Night We Met: Part 3

Party Line on the Palouse 

Limited Edition. Award Winning

Since crows have strong family units and are social, I imagined them using a party line. A party line is a telephone circuit dating back to the 1870s that is shared between multiple homes. The house I lived in on the big island of Hawai’i, had a party line, and I remember picking up the telephone and hearing conversations. If the party line was in use, then one had to wait till it was free to use the line. The idea for this piece came when I lived in a small town in the Palouse region of Idaho. The area was near the Nez Perce reservation and I would often take sight of their beautiful horses.

Murder of Crows

 Limited Edition

Crows have strong family units and are social. They roost in very large numbers and when they are together, it is called a Murder. The companion to Party Line on the Palouse, it can be displayed as a diptych.

Fire Lookout

Limited Edition: February 2022

This piece was inspired by the Edo Period Fire Lookouts in Japan. Edo is the former name of Tokyo. The numerous lookouts were around the city’s urban environment to keep watch for fires. The wooden homes were heated by charcoal burning fireplaces. During the Edo period 1600-1868, fires were so frequent that old Edo is remembered as the “City of Fires”. They experienced 49 great fires which repeatedly leveled the city. “Edo was razed to the ground on many occasions, only to rise again from the ashes like a phoenix.”

Before the Beginning

2011. Released in 2023 for the 10 year anniversary of The Beginning

Limited Edition

In honor of the tenth anniversary of my award-winning photograph The Beginning, I will be offering Before The Beginning as a limited edition piece.

Of all my works, The Beginning may elicit the strongest reactions. Some viewers regard it as grim, creepy, or foreboding, while others find the notion of being carried away from the pain of one’s past to new horizons profoundly cathartic. In my view, the emotional responses to this piece attest to the unique power of the moment it captures—the mixture of apprehension and hope inherent to leaving behind the familiar for the unknown.

Before the Beginning portrays the moment just before taking flight. Far from being a victim, the female figure is making the choice to allow herself to be uplifted by her crow familiar. She has realized that she is not alone with her struggles and that she has friends who can carry the load for her when she falters. All she has to do is reach up and hold on. 

Trying to stay afloat

Limited Edition: 16x20 matted print (100), 16x24 metal print (200), 24x36 metal print (200)

Is the crow struggling to hold up a burden, or perhaps clinging to a piece of wreckage in the middle of a vast ocean? We assume she could fly away, yet we don't know how close she is to shore or how she ended up in the predicament she's in. I feel a kinship with this crow. I have always struggled with depression and used fitness and healthy living to keep my head above water. Some days I feel like I can take flight; other days, I feel weighed down, alone, and adrift. I've often felt like the best I can do is just stay afloat. August 2020

Waiting for you

Limited Edition (200) Signed, Numbered and Matted 11x14

A torii is a Japanese gate that symbolizes the transition from the human world to the divine. After loving me for twenty years, my kitty Jambi now resides among the sacred.

This piece was difficult. I disassembled and reassembled it countless times; I poured hour after hour into it in hopes of honoring Jambi's legacy. In the end, I felt that while nothing I made could equal everything he gave me, this composition comes close. July 2020

Rainier Cherry Blossoms

I Dream in Color

This piece, a representation of one of my dreamscapes, is more abstract than most of my work. I recreated it from tissue paper as soon as I woke up, hoping to capture the dream when it was still fresh. My goal was to bring the experience of a vivid dream into the waking world.

While my previous constructed imagery compositions featured recognizable objects, this one eschews familiar forms and instead focuses on color and emotion. Different viewers will interpret this photograph in different ways. Just as in a dream, emotion and sensation take precedence over reason and logic.

Cattails for three

Limited Edition: February 2022

Jumping into Vortex

Award Winning

Electrical Fire

Black Clowder

8x12 Print matted to 16x20

A group of cats is a clowder. Black cats are left behind at animal shelters more than other cats due to their color. My first black kitten, Jambi, was adopted from Seattle Humane Society (Bellevue) and he lived to 20 years old. I adopted Mayonaka as a kitten (now four) from Homeward Pet Adoption (Woodinville). Maximillion (now two), was adopted from the Wenatchee Humane Society. With the purchase of Black Clowder, you are supporting black cat rescue as 25% of the sale is donated to black cat rescue, care and adoption. August 2021