I draw inspiration from the things around me in my immediate environment and from there I begin to construct a narrative in my large and medium scale collages. Recently this has included my fascination with the feathery beauty and graceful movements of the chickens I have been raising. My interest lies in deconstructing my materials so the imagery is not easily discernible and adhering to abstraction along the way while also maintaining some degree of that which is knowable. I am drawn to this challenge of straddling the line between that which is recognizable and the more ambiguous Moreover, my aim in my work is to imbue each piece with rhythm and fluidity and a vast negative space that holds equal importance.
My work is process driven. All the pieces begin by cutting and repurposing old paintings and more recently completing new paintings with the sole intention to cut up, reconfigure and layer into a new narrative. Semi-transparent Mylar is used in the paintings because it imparts a hazy see-through quality that is crucial to the work. This transparency allows for new relationships to emerge within the imagery as I overlap one piece over the next in this process.
Most recently, I have begun including close-up digital photographs of my chickens feathers and other things I find compelling and transferring the image onto fabric. This material then goes into my collage stockpile. This new element adds another layer of depth, texture and process into my work while remaining abstracted and mysterious.
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