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Mom was a beacon of LOVE. She was positive and supportive especially with her family. I always felt her unwavering love and enthusiasm for my art making. She is a generous spirit and although I miss her so terribly I am understanding and appreciating her strength and humility more than ever. I feel such an incredible sense of loss. I guess when you love someone so profoundly your heart breaks even when you know it is time for them to go.

The day before my mom passed a red breasted nuthatch tenaciously started making her nest in our large mimosa tree in the front yard. The hole was started by a downy woodpecker weeks prior. He had abandoned the hole and the mama nuthatch took it over. Those days of watching her work away making a deep cavity filled my heart. I haven’t seen her for several days. The last few times she had a mate visiting her. I am hopeful she is inside the nest sitting on her eggs but I also fear something happened. Time will tell…

ART NEWS

• Between Times and Between US– Group show curated by Georgina Ruff at Carnation Contemporary located at 8371 N Interstate Ave. Portland, OR 97217. June 6 – June 28, 2026. Gallery Hours SAT & SUN 12 – 5 PM.

  Opening reception Saturday, June 6, 5-8 PM.

  Panel discussion Sunday, June 28, 2-4 PM.

  
  

• WASP LOVE update progress images and recap from CODEX.

  
  

• Upcoming Fall solo exhibition at The Heltzer Gallery (Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus. 9/21/26 – 11/17/26

  More info to come.

  
  

• Collective Effervescence, three person show at the Reser with Susan Murrell and Friderike Heuer : February 5 – March 14, 2027. Save the date opening reception Friday February 5, 6-9 PM & March 11 panel discussion 6:30 – 8 PM.

I was honored to be asked to participate in

Between Times, a unique project of intergenerational exchange between a cohort of 10 artists: 5 under 30 years of age and 5 over 50 years of age. We gathered twice in early December 2025 for in-person intergenerational community building. It is a special group of artists: Davis Bashungwa, Nan Curtis, Jess Farrell, Joyln Fry, Diane Jacobs, Carter Kawena Kohler, Marne Lucas, Casper Mayberry, Trude Parkinson, and Gabby Serverson. The work selected for the show was chosen by Georgina Ruff. I will have 9 sculptures from my Exposing the Inside series.

CODEX X 2026 International Artist Book Fair

Saturday February 7 – Tuesday February 10, 2026

Oakland Marriott City Center

My dear friend and mentor, Mary Laird, had her table right next to mine at CODEX!! She is an amazing artist and letterpress/book art teacher. She was so generous with her knowledge during my graduate studies at San Francisco State University. I continue to learn so much from her. Thank you Mary for hosting me in your cozy hut for the duration of the fair. Pictured below is Lisa Hillstrom (my libra bestie) who has been helping me at my table at CODEX for years. I couldn’t manage without her energy and support. Thank you Lila!!

Pilar Agüero-Esparza picked me up from the airport so we could see her gorgeous exhibition, Cut/Woven/Spoken at the Mary Porter Sesnon gallery on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus. We were in beginning drawing together our very first quarter at UCSC.

WASP LOVE is in an edition of 16 with 14 copies for sale.

Rory Sparks and I have been working hard at putting the edition together. Here we are with all 30 book halves glued together and trimmed. We have all the spines and covers finished and we will be finishing up gluing the wooden frames tomorrow. Next week final touchups and caterpillars. There is no way I could have done this project without her skill and expertise in bookbinding. We definitely had some stressful days together–but we are nearing the finish. A HUGE THANK YOU RORY !!!

Each of the 11 folios had their own challenges. But the antennae page takes the cake with editioning 10 different beaded antennas. Thank you Max, Kate, Luna, Sophie, and Zusse for helping me with the beaded edition. I still have to finish up three of the little booklets that go inside the book. I am hoping to be completely finished by the end of July at the very latest.

Undoing will be part of my solo exhibition this fall at The Heltzer Gallery (Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus from 9/21/26 – 11/17/26. I will be juxtaposing pieces that were created over the last 30 years. Some works have never been shown before in Portland and the context will be completely new. Maps, ink blots, real currency, and artist books will draw the audience in for closer inspection. More information to come this summer. A huge thank you to Petra Sairanen for this unique opportunity.

I plan to connect my show with the nationwide wave of exhibitions, performances, public actions taking place on October 2 & 3, 2026. This movement, Fall of Freedom, is a creative resistance against authoritarianism.

COLLECTIVE EFFERVESCENCE

Collective Effervescence brings together the work of Diane Jacobs, Friderike Heuer, and Susan Murrell to explore our evolving relationship with the natural world. Rooted in shared energy, connection, and interdependence, the exhibition examines how human actions shape and destabilize the landscapes we inhabit. Through painting, photography, printmaking, and mixed media, the artists create environments that are at once familiar and altered. Together, they invite viewers to look closely, to explore and perhaps share the artists’ fervent belief that we can have a positive impact on preserving nature, once we shift from individual awareness to shared responsibility, and from observation to action. Thank you Karen De Benedetti for bringing us together.

Mark your calendars: Show runs: February 5 – March 14, 2027 at Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 SW Crescent Street, Beaverton, OR 97005.

Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 12 – 6 PM.

Save the date opening reception Friday, February 5, 2027 6-9 PM & March 11 panel discussion 6:30 – 8 PM.

more information to follow…