My abstract paintings reflect my fascination with the concepts, metaphors and images derived from astronomy, astrophysics and systems theory. I'm influenced as well by the micro and macros worlds of the biological, geological, topographical and by scientific concepts such as string theory, fractals and self-organizing systems. Images of the Earth from space and of deep space are also important to me. And since I'm a gardener, as well as a painter and a poet, floral allusions sometimes appear in her work Most recently, I've been painting in encaustic (highly-pigmented pharmaceutical-grade beeswax strengthened by damar resin) to which I add oils, solvents and powdered pigments, fusing each layer with either a butane torch, heat gun or heating lamp, and sometimes adding supplemental materials such as dried berries, petals, leaves, glass beads or pearls, or other found and natural objects. I see myself as fundamentally an experimental painter whose task it is to pay close attention to what is unfolding and to alter my process and the materials I'm using in service of an aesthetic that’s been evolving over a lifetime of visual experience. “What constitutes integrity in a work of art?” is one question that guides my inquiry, as does my deepest, my heart-felt desire, which is to create works that are interesting and beautiful in equal measure. As I complete a work, I continually stop and ask myself, is this truly interesting? is it beautiful? I’ll leave the final assessment to others, since I don’t think the answer is something I can know, but I do keep these questions uppermost in mind as a means of coaxing my work forward.