My inspiration often begins with prehistoric art, Polynesian colors or fantasy creatures, which appear at the tip of my pencil. I then transpose these drawings into compositions, which often surprise me. Recently these creatures have begun to tell stories, which seem to come from my subconscious. To the extent that I can attach a meaning to them, they actually enlighten me about my state of mind, although they often take on a life of their own. So perhaps by viewing them, you too might be surprised, amused or even enlightened.

The creatures are etched into aluminum plates, which makes them more permanent and allows me to give them new lives by printing them in a variety of ways. The labor- intensive process oriented demands of printmaking inform my creative process. The many steps allow me to change directions incrementally, while sticking with a matrix.

I grew up in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual environment and spent most of my life in Germany and France, so I tend to see things from different points of view. The demands of printmaking have forced me to focus on a matrix and to try to bring clarity to all the layers of meaning. However, I am always trying to push the boundaries of printmaking as I print on fabric, make lamps, do book art, T-shirts, wall hangings and lately a small children's book.

I studied painting and drawing in Grenoble, France. At the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto I've been printing with San Francisco artist Alan May, who developed non-toxic aluminum etching with copper sulfate. I am extremely grateful to Alan May and to my fellow non-toxic printers at the Pacific Art League for all the critique, stimulation and encouragement over the last eight years.