STATEMENT
I enjoy working in a diverse body of styles and mediums and, most recently, am focusing on photo-encaustic and mixed media encaustic works. I am inspired by the past, my memories, nostalgia, family, books, music, fashion, textiles, noir, nature, flowers, and humor. I build my work around these concepts. I have adored the tactile properties of paper and printed media for as long as I can remember. While no medium is off-limits, I often find myself incorporating my love of ephemera and papers of all kinds into my work. My mixed media and encaustic works combine images I have created with paper, printed matter, ephemera, photography, and other found objects. I save these things so that I can preserve their temporal context. I protect them from when they cease to be relevant and allow them to reemerge as revered relics in my work. I arrange the items and papers and paint until the work reveals itself.
I am drawn to light, atmosphere, and mood; I take visual notes of the inconspicuous details in my surroundings. The photographic work I create is a form of visual poetry and my images must evoke a feeling of wistfulness, which enhances the beauty and meaning of my subject matter. I shoot traditional imagery in addition to creating ethereal composite photos and photomontages.
My books are self-portraits in the sense that they are collective imprints from my memories. A series of images and bits of text tell a narrative by subtly revealing a wealth of personal insight, humor, darkness, light, and cause for speculation. They combine images I have created myself with those appropriated from other sources.