Reading and seeing, image and text, provide a rich well of materials from which she draws her inspiration. The profound mystery of words, small arbitrary symbols, written on stone or parchment and how they convey meaning across the barriers of time, has been an important component of her personal iconography.

Bowden's work traces her interest and intrigue with Word as Image. She finds a source of mystery in the evolution of words and ideas made visible, recorded and presented historically in a variety of ways. The result is several series of work reflecting a search and exploration celebrating the gift of word.