My Muse is at present "Line" and I work without a Score, improvising as I go... an intuitive stream of consciousness that leaves shapes and ideas to suggest themselves.

The current series is entitled "Muse and Meditation" and is comprised of complex layers of color and line pulling the viewer in and holding them spellbound.

An addition to my series is a sub-group I call "Participation Paintings". They stand alone or in groupings of 2 or more and invite the viewer to compose their own artwork as some rotate in all directions and are joined with my trademark "line". The dimensions on all paintings vary from 5" x 5" to 60" x 48".

I start with a small study on 4 x 6 paper and water media to establish my composition and color.

Then I move to a slightly larger format, usually around 8 x 10, to refine the composition, colors, values, and details.

When I am satisfied, I then decide whether the final work should be acrylics or oil on canvas. My canvasses are all "gallery wrap", giving a three dimensional effect to the piece.

• Vancouver Museum of Art
  Vancouver, British Columbia, Cananda
• Art Institute
  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Northern Arizona State University
  Flagstaff, AZ
  Twentieth Century Art, Color Theory

The 3 Americas International Competition was open to all artists from North, Central, and South America. only 100 artists were juried in; 49 were from the United States and Canada. The show will be a traveling exhibit, opening in New York's Lincoln Center. Thereafter it will be displayed in most of the major cities in the Americas through 2003. The proceeds of the tour will go to four non-profit organizations, one of which is "Doctors Without Borders".

Arnold James Isbister, internationally known artist, critic, and juror for this competition, writes "Congratulations Ms. Swaim, your piece was the one that stood out above the rest."