"THE BOOKS I'D WRITE"

Concept: When I was a child I had two dreams; I wanted to be an artist and I wanted to be a novelist. I had no doubt I could do it; back then, I believed everything was possible. Occasionally, my grandmother would look at me and say: "Remember - it's very hard to put two watermelons under the same arm...." But I was determined. So I set out to prove her wrong.

Increasingly as I grew older the limitations of Time became more obvious to me. There always seemed to be so much to do, and so little time! I am now an artist, the mother of a six year old, a teacher - with the zillions of other things that make up the reality of our everyday life. "The Books I'd Write" are so far many scattered pages and a few collections of poems.

Recently, pressured once again by a perpetual lack of time, I felt the need to do something about the books inside me to relieve me, at least partially, of their weight. So I started making them. This is how this series came about.

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Style: I work in mixed media, incorporating in my pieces seemingly unrelated objects and materials with words of text. In most cases, I transform the objects I use by altering and casting them, so that they are given a new identity and can then be woven together into a unified image. The materials I use are varied: paper, hydrocal, nails, broken glass, etc. My works look old, like weathered fragments from my own memory and the collective memory of my original culture; they come to life to tell a personal tale.

With few exceptions my books are small (5" x 3" x 1"or smaller). They are all free-standing and are one-of-a-kind.

The Books I'd Write: Maria's Story Mixed Media 5"x3"x1.25"

The Books I'd Write Mixed Media 4"x3"x1" each

The Books I'd Write: Monument to Everyday Mixed Media 4"x3"x1"

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