"My Work and Meaning"​​ (cont'd)​​​

My first solo show in January 1985 “Cosmic Thoughts” drew on my teaching of colour theory in the Foundation Department at EMSVA. It was also concerned with the geometry of the Universe and the forces that guide and direct our lives. The brightly coloured geometric shaped canvases, and finely etched pen and ink works on paper described my feelings about the underlying principles of physics and how everything in this Cosmos works.

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This show was quickly followed by “Reflections” at Makonde Gallery in November 1985, a joint show with Jeweler, Corinne Wakeland. These works took the ideas investigated in my first show but formatted differently. Canvases stretched over board, with windows cut within, presented a different dimension, with the concept of passing from one psychological level to the next, and reaching beyond to a different state. In addition to the colour and changes of format, I explored the emotions of Love, Loss, Grief, Fear and Captivity. 

There was a strong turning point for my next show at Frame Centre Gallery in December 1987, which enjoyed a very different colour palette than the previous two shows. The canvases were largely white with areas of graphic marks I made with pen and ink in black or subdued colours. The reference here was seabirds, grey pelicans and frigate birds, observed mostly in flight, their environment in the Hellshire hills and beach, and nesting sites on the keys. Their coordination and synchronized flight in combination with the circular force fields which bound them together. I would attribute the quieter, more contemplative work, to meeting my husband and marrying the following spring, and quickly starting a family.

In October 1990, at Bay Gallery, in a joint show with painter, printmaker Judith Salmon, I celebrated family and motherhood through a series of Madonna and Child images. The mixed media and subdued palette are similar to the previous show and continue through much of my subsequent work.
In March 1993 at Galerie 14, I exhibited a series of images entitled “In His Garden” of mine and my neighbours’ gardens. As well as images of nature, and growth patterns, they were highly metaphorical images of portals, stairways, ambiguous misty spaces and an empty chair. The mixed media, subdued palette and pen and acrylics were further explored in these paintings.

In October 1998 my exploration of Place continued at an exhibition of work at Mutual Gallery. This consisted images of Treasure Beach, Prospect, St. Thomas, Hope River, Port Royal and Salt Hill where I now live. There was scant use of colour, mostly black and white minimal images, with many being pen and ink on drafting tissue on canvas. The stark beauty of these Places where I spent time with family and students is reflected in the quietness and contemplative quality of the work.

The new millennia ushered in travel overseas, and exploration of many different cultures, religions and cosmos, very often viewed through the architecture, and especially sacred spaces. Between 2001 and 2004, I spent summers at school in Mexico, attaining my Master’s degree in Painting, drawing and Printmaking, but more importantly by becoming embedded in the Pre-Colombian culture of Mexico. I spent time at Teotihuacan, Tula and El Tajin, photographing and drawing the sacred structures, pyramids, ballcourts and plazas where the rituals and spiritual ceremonies took place. This resulted in an extensive body of work, executed at Instituto Allende, as well as in between summers at Edna Manley College under the tutelage of Professor Eugenio de Melon. The painting has an increased colour palette, and highly textured surfaces with pen and ink detail; experimental work on Mexican Amatl paper has a more subdued palette and alludes to the lost-to-time and hidden qualities that the structures passed through. I experienced tremendous pleasure with the explorations in etching and lithography. The ritual of process was time consuming and painstakingly detailed and allowed me time to become totally embedded in an understanding of the culture and history.

In 2007 I returned to Mexico, to the Yucatan peninsula. I visited the Mayan cities of Uxmal, Kabah, Labna, Sayil and Xlapak. The work that resulted from this were all works on Amatl paper and were exhibited in a group show with Philip Supersad at Bolivar Gallery in 2010.

Whilst in Mexico, I also became aware of the Islamic influences in the post Colombian architecture and iconography, brought to Mexico by Spain at the time of the conquest. This eventually resulted in explorations through my Art in Istanbul, 2013; Granada, Spain and Tangiers, Morocco in 2015: Sevilla, Spain and Marrakech, Morocco in 2017; Havana, Cuba in 2018; Cordoba and Malaga in Andalusia, Spain in 2019. After a break and retirement from teaching I visited Tunisia, Carthage, Oudna, Dougga El Jem and Kerkouan; and Rome to explore the architecture of the Roman Empire. The earlier visits resulted in a joint exhibition with Mazola Wa Mwashighadi at Olympia Gallery entitled “Sacred geometry, Portals to Beyond and Other Transcendental Spaces”.