In fresh, sensitive line drawings and earthy, witty sculptures, Dorise Ford's work displays two major motifs, humor and generosity. There is an exuberant generosity of shape and space in her line drawing: the subject is often a generously-endowed woman with an obvious joie de vivre. Her line informs, intrigues, reveals, suggests -- always involving the viewer in a joyful relationship with the text. Her use of color is restrained, but explicit. Using an economy of line, she brings to life a variety of characters in diverse moods. Each distinct personality seems to reflect some immediately recognizable inner vision.

Sculptures in clay and bronze display another facet of Dorise Ford. Although their subject matter is similar in content to the drawings, the sculptures have an entirely different quality. The ellipsis of sophisticated line is replaced by the specificity of solid form. Each figure is a unique individual, yet each triggers a universal sympathy. In this context, Ford's humor scintillates. She describes one small sculpture as "a little fat lady with a turban, sitting on a piece of cake with a bon-bon footstool." The clay she uses is chocolate colored.

Ford is a perfectionist who says she often does thirty or forty drawings, just to get a good one. "Sculpting is more like play (than line drawing is). I don't intentionally add humor," she says, "but humor is the glue. You can't make it through life without it. I think you can survive the worst of times if you can find some glimmer of humor."