As an artist I'm informed by an interest in folk art, anthropomorphic fables, allegory, organic abstraction and veneration for the natural world. Working with mixed mediums on paper, I draw from philosophies of the Arts and Crafts Movement and the re-contextualization of textile traditions as much as by contemporary drawing and painting practice.

Using paper-cut, collage and pinpricks on paper, I work to construct textured and layered images that appear otherworldly and fantastic. The pieces with darker backgrounds can appear black in reproductions but are actually a dark metallic gray that is affected by light. These surfaces are made by building up thin layers of dark gray paint on paper which is then rubbed with powdered graphite. The paper is punctured with a needle to create pinpricks and finally hand-painted cut and pasted collage pieces, along with various minute sizes of hole-punched paper are laid on top. By working on the front and back-side of the paper, the surface is handled by hand like fabric as much as paper itself, and often multiple panels are joined in a single piece to make paper quilts. With these processes, a connection is made to textile traditions, and specifically to quilt making, with its lineage of carrying encoded messages and telling symbolic stories.

Many of the pieces are populated with flora and fauna, insects, birds and hybrid creatures who occupy sparse environments. These biomorphic forms are meant to emulate an emotional presence and qualities of the supernatural, so that there is a sense of blurring between the earthly and spiritual, as occurs with fairy tales or myths. Some of my more recent work incorporates abstractions, depicting small details, macro views and pattern arrangements. When paring down to hone in on simple shapes and forms, I am nonetheless interested in revealing a kind of dynamic organization that involves rhythm and repetition, evoking still a sense of aliveness and a balance of interrelationships.