I am a multiple media artist with a commitment to creating thought-provoking art that heals the soul.  Healing can come in the form of peace and beauty, or in holding a mirror up to one's life. 

Healing the soul takes many forms in my mind, and has taken many forms in my art.  From fields of abstract, swirlings shapes, dots, line and texture through naturalistic still life pieces and sculpture, the feelings evoked may be anywhere from gentle and soothing to somewhat jarring, or a combination of the two.    

Traditional American and Native American styles have influenced my work and my choice of materials. This in turn dictated the styles of baskets I began weaving. Using many traditional and native materials such as cedar and cherry bark, sweet grass and spruce roots, I studied basket weaving techniques that have been handed down through the centuries. After studying extensively with Jiro Yonezawa, I became proficient in making Japanese-style baskets using their established weaving methods.

Drawing, I have learned over time, is the foundation of my creative work. It reflects how I move, breath, see and communicate with the world around me. It is present in all my work, including all that I sew, bind and construct. It informs the way I choose materials and the way in which I work to transform surfaces.
My most recent work reflects my connection to the breath, an interest in what I cannot see directly, and my fascination with the magic that is revealed in my peripheral vision. Daily communion with nature nourishes my imagination.

I enjoy creating representational oil paintings that tell stories, especially stories that promote environmental preservation and appreciation, or that illuminate cross-cultural experiences. I like painting birds and aerial-view landscapes as an allegory of my personal experiences and interests.

I specialize in black and white photography. I strive to create compelling images using natural light and a bit of serendipity.

I believe that nothing has the potential more than art to touch the soul deeply, to dissolve barriers and unite minds

impression / expression

Or

I explore the mysteries:
human nature and spirit,
birth and afterlife,
devotion and dreams.

the metaphors of gestation and birth
link
our human bodies with our spiritual conciousness.

I respond to the tension
between quiet nature and the industrial world,
in the architecture of bones, birds, the human body.

Beeswax, clay, paper;
steel, resins, plastics;
the materials chosen for each sculpture embody poetic meaning.

Dayton’s technique is a method she developed in order to create abstract photographic images.  Using a chosen photograph, an exact duplicate (or a mirror image) is created and then joined to the original photo.  This technique then creates a new abstract image.  By mirroring her photographs, her works represent a method where an invisible world can actually become visible in unexpected ways.