I discovered artist books in September 1989 having just arrived in Madison Wisconsin for graduate school. A display case filled with all manner of books, some of which could hardly be described as a book, was fascinating to me and I began my journey to discover how to make such a structure. Using the printmaking techniques that I had acquired as an undergraduate, I was able to complete some books, fumbling through the technical parts. As I learned more and more about book structures, binding methods and typography I was able to begin using my ideas in interesting ways that I couldn't do on a 2 dimensional surface.

As an undergraduate, an interest in the architectural form began with a degree in Interior Design and continued during the process of working on a BFA. I liked to drive through older neighborhoods taking photos of houses that I would never live in. In big cities I would gaze up the facades of old tenements and wonder about its history. Then I created images of houses and other building structures in etchings and monotypes.

Trying to define exactly what a book is usually involves a long philosophical discussion among book artists. To me, a book can use a sequencing of images or thoughts. The order in which these images and thoughts are viewed is not always controllable by the artist. These images or thought/ concepts may be in the shape of a traditional book or may not. At times they become completely sculptural and removed from what most viewers think of as a book. Even when they approach the mostly 3 dimensional feel of a small sculpture, I tend to envelop the structure with book covers so that they will close up and hide their interior between a more traditional exterior. The physical act of opening a book is enticing to the viewer. The idea of hiding and revealing images is important.

I began to create books in the shape of houses that became a metaphor and a symbol for all the angst and anxiety I was feeling at the time. A long distance relationship, the building of my ‘real' home and the student housing I was condemned to live in were all grist for the process of creating books. I spent a good many years using this childish symbol/ shape to represent the many ideas I explored on living in society with the ones I love. This repeated motif of the simple house shape was used in books I created throughout the 1990's. My work was a constant dialogue with the stimuli of my life.

I started making books that open up into rooms because they helped define and illustrate the themes of architecture. I am also concerned with the idea of how an artist book is presented to the world and have found that many times books are displayed in exhibits, unable to be touched or opened. So much content was not being seen that I wanted to create books that once open, could be viewed in their entirety. Thus, this pop out structure came about.

A series of ‘pop-up/out' (for want of a more descriptive word) books that I have made are based on a book structure that is a more elaborate and sophisticated pop up/ fold out than some of the children's versions usually seen. This series of books afford voyeuristic views of neighborhood affairs and disturbances glimpsed through windows and doors. The figures in the structures are frozen in poses of interaction or alienation. It may be hard to tell if a disturbing incident is about to take place, or has already happened. These books show a slice of life at a tense point in time, and people in a moment of adversity. I want to show small dramatic moments that I never get to see. It could be on the set of a movie or a glimpse into a neighbors' window. My life isn't that dramatic so I make up stories and live vicariously. Our homes are shields and fortresses and hide much from the world around us.

The paper cutting technique used in these books gives these images a strong graphic look and the formal design aspects of using the positive and negative shapes is pleasing to me. The silhouettes created and the play of light on the forms and the area around the structures attract me to the possibilities that it arouses.

The travel books are a response in my own mind to all the books I made about HOME. I wanted to leave home and the house shape behind . So figuratively I began to travel away from home. A series of books entitled ‘Reasons Not To Travel' parts 1 –4 are laced with humor and satire and tinged with an underlying concept relating to peoples' ideas about traveling- especially Americans traveling abroad. Americans tend to be afraid of experiencing other cultures, afraid of being seen as the loud, ‘ugly American', afraid (these days) of terrorism These books reveal all the reasons behind the question of ‘what could go wrong when I am far from home.' The words and images place tourists in frustrating or discomfiting situations where the viewer may determine that it's better to just stay home. Most of this series was created before 9-11, and since then they have taken on a different, darker context.

The newest series of books are still using the cut paper method and I am exploring the positive and negative shapes of the landscapes, and built environments in which I live. The interplay of light and shadow on the cut image, through the cut image and through the images projected on the wall are what I am interested in discovering.

Some of the books are created with one concept in mind, a structure to develop, a theme to carry out. Sometimes the idea comes first and other times I begin with the structure but each time structure and content must coalesce seamlessly. Books fascinate me in that there are technical problems to address with every structure, and a myriad of details to work out. In one aspect this becomes a detriment when all I want to do is create an image but for the most part, artist books fulfill a desire to tell a story, create a narrative, whether with images or text or both.