In the beginning of my artistic transition from making just frames for mirrors to making collage, I wanted to make collages that worked their way into the frames. That kept me in the frame of mind, so to speak, of still doing "images in wood."

In the Beginning...

Some Very Early Works...

Andrinka Dancers

This was inspired by the Andrinka symbols on the tiles. This collage and frame incorporate tiles of Adinkra motifs, textiles, and trade beads.

The Adinkra symbols of the Ashanti (Asante) in Ghana, Western Africa, are timeless and still used today. The Adinkra motifs are often used as transmitters of certain messages.

Center Tile: Afuntun mmireku/ Denkyem mmireku
Two crocodiles that share the same stomach—a symbol of solidarity and tolerance between different groups of people. It also tells us that one mind alone cannot decide for many.

Upper Right: Gyawn Atiko
Symbol of great courage and determination.

Upper Left: Kojo Baiden
Symbol of the universe. This symbol combines the rays of the sun, the double crescent moon, and the Asante stool.

Bottom Right: Gye Nyame
Suggests not to fear anything except God. It’s the highest of all the symbols and describes the all-encompassing God and his omnipotence.

Bottom Left: Mmra Krado
The lock, or seal of law and order—a symbol of the authority and power of the court.

The tiles were made at Arius Tiles in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (2005)

The Lions Sleep...I built the frame like a shadow box so that the 3D wooden giraffes on the bottom would have a spot. The paper giraffes originally came from a calendar. A friend in England showed me how to stretch paper, which I did, so I could stuff the paper giraffes to give them an actual shape.  The collage incorporates authentic African bone beads, fabric, and images on several different types of paper. (2006)

The Blue Door...just the blue door and building appeared on the front of a post card from a realtor in Santa Fe. Tuscany, Spain? A secret garden in my mind...I actually drew and painted the doorway, wall, and barrel planters, then added the flowers from various old calendars. The vines were 3D.

Faeries
The female images in this collage come from a body of work done by artist Patricia Wyatt of Santa Fe called On Common Ground, Paintings of Women around the World. I bought cards with these images, and transformed those images into glittering fairies peeking out from the saved calendar flowers. Then of course, I made the frame to match!

In 2007, I did two back to back trips to the Greek Islands, and was inspired to create Echos From the Ancients.
The Minoans erupt from the sea to lay claim to their Greek islands!

A collage of images and artifacts collected in Santorini: fabric, mirror glass, sea weed, pottery shards, little charms, disguised refrigerator magnets, paper, and parts of two small oil paintings that I bought from a street artist.

It's All Greek to Me Greek Orthodox icons and prayer offerings. Collected on Paros, Greek Islands.