I have returned to art making after more than a decade away and now in my mid 60's I feel a bit like an emerging artist or rather that I may have come full circle.  I aim now to paint with the same freedom that I observed years ago in preschool children - where the brush simply tells a story as it moves across the surface.  

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To that end, I am inviting play and discovery to be important components of my process.  In my studio I am deliberately recalling childlike experiences like exploring the woods, climbing trees, digging in the dirt, tending a flower, floating on the water, playing in the snow and walking barefoot in the grass.  Gratefully these can be collected daily as I make my home surrounded by the woods and waters of northern Wisconsin.  In my art I am interested in combing these active and felt experiences with more subtle, mature themes of connection, community, purpose, calling, loss, longing and hope.  It is this push and pull of joy and melancholy that informs the outcome of each piece.  

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With acrylic paint and mixed media such as collage, graphite crayons and ink I build colors and textures in response to what I have seen and felt.  Holding an experience in mind to begin, the first layers are usually active and playful.  The process evolves in intuitive dialogue as I respond to color, gesture, texture and movement to build the surface.  This progression allows the process to inform the direction, meaning that the subject usually meanders away from the original intent, much like taking a walk without a destination.  As a new direction or composition is revealed I try to follow that trail until it resolves.  This can be over days or over weeks.  The piece feels finished when it reveals a message, idea, memory or metaphor for me.  This layered approach contributes to the complexity and structure of the work and also invites the viewer to consider their own stories in the subject and layers, both seen and unseen.     MARY ROSSING