Welcome

Las Damas del Desierto (Ladies of the Desert) is a series of mixed-media paintings created to honor the six different cultures that have combined to create the Tucson, Arizona of today. The cultures are: The Tohono O'odham Nation, indigenous desert dwellers of the region., Mexico, the country that 'owned' this area at one time before USA took over the region, Spain who sent her missionaries to the area to found missions, build churches and attempt to convert other area inhabitants, China, whose citizens were brought from California and the Pacific Northwest to build the railroads, African-Americans who settled here as Buffalo Soldiers and later, came to work with the military at Davis Monthan Airforce Base. And of course, Caucasians who came as cowboys & settlers and other capacities as the Wild West was being won, so to speak.

      This group of images is dedicated to the women of these six cultures who created homes, cities, families and culture in the Southwest.  These women shared legacy-making as they set down roots andbrought customs, food, & traditions from their own backgrounds.

This  series began in 2005 as an homage to Chicago painter, ED PASCHKE. When he passed away from cancer, in his early 60's, I was moved to begin what has evolved into an on-going body of work centering on Archetypal Feminine figures relating to elements of the natural world. 

    Having grown up in the Chicago area, I had been influenced from a young age, by a local art movement called The Hairy Who. Later referred to as the Chicago Imagists, this group, formed in the 1960's included Christina Ramberg, who was my most seminal teacher during  undergraduate,  exploratory years. Her work, like Paschke's, included extensive patterning, color gradations, references to comics and other 'outsider art' influences.

       This series is my homage to both Ed Paschke and an eternal tradition of honoring The Feminine as a foundational energy of our lives on the planet.

This series was created during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 -2021.  As the world focused on staying 'safe' during the prolonged lock-down of year #1 of the virus, so many of us turned to Mother Nature for guidance and solace.  One of the blessings of Covid has been to re-direct our priorities to spending more time with people we love outdoors. As my family & I spent more & more time in parks, on nature trails and simply walking Tucson neighborhoods, these images of how much each of us is connected, both to each other and through nature , emerged in my studio. Although Covid brought so much loss, grief and horror, the virus has also gifted us with renewed commitment to shifting how we, as humans, continue to improve the ways we steward the Earth and Her resources.

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Many Meso-American cultures honor the 'Circle of Life' which includes the reality that all things must pass.  Having 'Come of Age' in Central Mexico in a small city where the traditions of this sacred holiday are still practiced, I have been blessed with many years of celebrating in this historic and ancient way.

     The essence of Dias de los Muertos is rooted in pre-Columbian, indigenous cultures. Peoples from all over Latin America believe that from October 1st-2nd, there is a thinning of the veil that separates the Land of the Living from the Land of the Dead. At this special time, the Spirits of our loved ones can return for an annual visit.  Unembodied as Spirits are, we can entice them to re-visit us through the sounds of their favorite music, the smells of their favorite foods, the power of both copal incense and the smell of marigolds; called Cempatzuchil or Flower of the Dead, by the ancient people of Mexico.  The tradition brings famiiles together to gather at the cemetery to clean and refresh the grave sites, to 'picnic' with their departed loved ones  Spirits eating their favorite foods, drinking the beverages enjoyed by the departed and playing music that he or she loved. At home, sumptuous 'ofrendas' or' offerings' are constructed with photographs, objects representing the departed's life and passions as well as plates of their favorite foods & beverages.

       The gist of Dia de los Muertos is celebration and merriment. Death is not feared south of the border the way Western societies relate to it. Death is accepted and welcomed as an integral aspect of Life itself.