Years ago I read Jean Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) dictum "Le dessin est la probite de l'art" (Drawing is the probity of art) since it is a very humble and simple technique...a piece of paper and a graphite point. This technique however, in the hands of an artist can convey dimension, beauty, pain, emotion and even movement. And ever since I have been searching for a technique that will be as simple and pure as a pencil leaving a mark on a piece of paper, without the fireworks of paint.

The "eureka" moment came as I was experimenting with patinas on silver leaf...it occurred to me that if one can oxidize a piece silver with acid there might be a way of controlling that process and creating images that the eye can perceive as having dimension and meaning. In my first trial with silver leaf and acid I painted my mother’ s face, and to my amazement the image had life and movement. As a stain on a wall the figure came through as the acid reacted with the silver. So, at last I had found a way of creating art that is not additive but merely the metamorphosis of the metal as it reacts. The final product is an image that IS part of the surface, made up practically of nothing, which our eyes and brain piece together.