Since 2006 most of my work has been based on digital images, which have been altered in Photoshop and then printed large-scale onto fabric using commercial printers. After printing, I alter these images using transparent acrylic based fabric paints, extensive machine stitching, colored pencils with various collage or appliqué additions as needed. They are then quilted and finished. Creating a visually rich and exciting surface texture is of primary importance to me.

My subject matter, the prairie landscape, has remained constant. In this body of work, I have focussed on a series of field images, after the grains have been harvested, when we are left with only the stubble and the straw bales. So often, we don’t actually “see” the land on which we all depend. Mostly we think of it as a commodity. We talk about the cultivated fields in terms of yield and bushels/acre in the same way as the forestry industry sees mountain slopes in terms of board feet.

I believe our ability to recognize and to become aware of beauty is one of the qualities that sustains us as a species. Consequently, I have tried to show the beauty of this place that many of us call “home”. I want to celebrate the beauty of the turned and cultivated land so that we can begin to love the land and not just use it.

When we learn to love the land, we will have no choice but to actively heal it.