As an art student, I discovered the Surrealists and was drawn to the works of Miro, Paul Klee, and Frederich Hundertwasser. I adopted their techniques, including automatic drawing, decalcomania and frottage, to produce a substantial vocabulary of forms used in my paintings and drawings. My watercolor series, From the Sea, is inspired by the vast diversity of organisms found in the oceans. Gizmo Convention, another group of watercolors, uses organic and geometric forms placed within a surreal architectural landscape. These colorful and often humorous forms hover in the air as though randomly tossed toys in a surreal room. The painting, Suite XVI, brings together enlarged details of 16 different small watercolors that together form a patchwork painting. The watercolors, Tettegouche Suite and View from Tettegouche, are inspired by my hiking explorations of the Lake Superior region of Minnesota. The pen-and-ink and oil paintings that comprise my series, Hebraic Fragments, came as a surprise to me and from deep within my subconscious. These pieces connect with my Jewish upbringing and link to my fascination with antiquities and calligraphic forms. This body of work explores the manipulation of ancient Hebrew letters based on the Aleppo Codex. Numerous abstract combinations of letters, and parts of letters, are placed out of context, in random order or manipulated. My printmaking background inspired me to explore the use of digital reproductions of these works. In the oil paintings of this series, I return to my fascination with organic forms, using previous plant studies to bring another layer of ideas within the Hebraic letters.

My most recent series of paintings, Octet Variations, are oils on museum board. Each work pushes the abstraction of letter forms beyond recognition, as though the forms begin to fragment and fall apart. Negative and positive space is highlighted using a contrast of bright, flat color and intricate wood-like and fabric-like textures.

As an artist, I am constantly excited by natural forms around me as well as examples of architecture and civilizations from the past. At a time when our planet is becoming more fragile, and our art is becoming less valued, I believe it is my responsibility as an artist to celebrate all that inspires me, to share it, and to hopefully inspire others.