Cull of the Litter • 1998-on

MUCH OF THE MOTIVATION I have to make art is driven by my desire to be part of a community, to have a sense of place. I kept silent about my Arkansas upbringing when I went off to get an education. The art world separated me from what I identified with culturally and challenged all the beliefs I had been raised with. Feeling out of place at home is a terribly disconcerting condition and this series was my reaction to that. Perhaps too it was my attempt to empathize with the underdog or outsider, something I have done all my life.

This work has continued as my life has changed and I have gotten older. Much of the angst I was experiencing has tempered with age, and especially with the birth and rearing of my daughter. However, anyone who grows and changes and accepts new challenges in life must have some insecurities that continue to haunt them. That is what this body of work is for me.