The Glass Menagerie

Artist Statement

During my undergraduate years as a biology major I took a course in entomology. For an assignment I had to create an insect collection, carefully collecting specimens, killing them in a way as to not damage their bodies, posing them to best display their anatomy and containing them in a pristine wooden box.  Beautiful, numbered and preserved for all time.  In this series I wanted to explore capturing human emotion in a similar way. The problem with that is emotions are fleeting, inexact, and often blended with other feelings. The free, impulsive nature of watercolor offered a perfect medium.  The colors bleed and crash into each other; thin in places, intense in others, as the complexity of the emotions unfold.  The pieces are finished in a high gloss, indestructible resin, readying the specimens for display.  Together, a Glass Menagerie.