My studio is located in the village of Saugerties, New York, in the Hudson Valley. where I create my beautiful, innovative, prize-winning sculpture, paintings and drawings; portfolios that have been developed over six decades. Beginning as a painter in oils, and having always loved drawing, in my travels, I met a sculptor (Jasmine Saunders) who invited me to join her life drawing group in her studio. From her influence, I began to carve wood, and have never looked back! Sculpture is my first love. I now work in a wide variety of materials; wood, primarily, but I've done a series of small metal wall pieces, and I've been experimenting with rag paper over a found metal armature. Drawing is my second love, using pencil and colored pencil, and pen & ink,.....but I still paint; I learned to do Reverse Painting on Glass ,an antique technique, from helping my mother in her studio, where she restored damaged antique paintings. I have used this fascinating technique, but with abstraction instead of the stylized antique subjects, to create the effect I'm looking for in the smaller sizes I work with. I have lived in many places in the United States; My husband's work led us to move 20 times in 30 years.... Finally, in 1985, we suffered a great loss when the loft we lived in in New Haven, Connecticut was destroyed by a hurricane - my work was blown across the city and it took us six years to find a place where I could rebuild my studio. This was the Clove Church Studio, where for 21 years I was able to create some of the best work I had ever done. I think I may have been so angry and hurt at the loss I was determined to do better work than ever. which helped to develop an attitude towards work habits and thinking that I use to this day. The newest portfolio I've created came about because in 2014 I moved to a new home and studio, and was having a difficult time getting used to the drawing area.......after a long year or more of frustration, I said "the hell with it" and having a large collection of materials, I decided to try my hand at collage. They have turned out to be heavily textural, as I've added found objects to the mix, and for the first time have added vintage plastics, which will yellow more as they age, but I try to use that in the design. Very recently I've had my sculpture selected for showing in Venice, Italy at an exhibition hosted by the European Cultural Centre - "Time, Space, Existence" - in conjunction with the 2018 Architecture Biennale . WOW! I've just been invited to participate at the FLORENCE Biennale as a returning artist- October 18th - 27th, 2019- and "Water of Life" an exhibition in Toronto, Canada..... This is becoming an interesting year! I've said nothing about how I am inspired to create the work I do - I find it difficult to choose an artist that inspires me; there are so many wonderful artists! However, having had a long career, I've seen women come into their own, and that is truly inspiring. For me, I think it is the materials I use that urge me to make art of one medium or another. I was taught to use my own resources and try to have an original approach when I thought about the work I was to attempt. Some of us believe that constantly looking at the work of others can dilute your own thinking and lead to work that is less that you might be able to produce otherwise. Do whatever works well for you! Since joining Orangenius, I've been able to do extensive work on organizing my portfolios, collecting a great deal of data in one place, and doing serious thinking about what it was I was trying to achieve. In turn, this has led me to try a variety of ways to promote my work, many of which have been successful! They have freely given me advice when I had a question, and in general, made things easier for me to deal with. UPDATE: The pandemic has hurt us all...in 2019 I lost members of my family, and then the lockdown happened..... I, like many of my artist friends, had difficulty working - we had lost our way- apparently, I was functioning, but barely - One day in March,2021, a friend sent me a video - so I watched. The video was B/W, and of a favorite song of the 60's - "The Sound of Silence". It was beautifully done, and rather than being melancholy as the original, it was angry! The lead singer ( the "metal" band "DISTURBED) has a very sculptural head and beautiful voice, and as I watched I realized I hadn't been aware of appreciating beauty for the last TWO years. So I found another video of the band and listened - "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR" was perfect- I began laughing and went to my studio - and haven't stopped. I haven't paid much attention in the past to the therapeutic value of art...there is so much more than that,... But I am a believer now . ART of all kinds is necessary and wonderful. Be well, and live with art. (to see my Instagram page - 123faywood) Another UPDATE: in the last year I have had two lovely articles published on my work - A 5 page Conversation with a dozen images in PRIVATE AIR MAGAZINE- Nov-Dec 2022 Vol 11,issue 6, and ART MARKET ,Feb. 2023, #78, a summary with 20 images! I hope you enjoy these.