Artist's Statement

My art is a reflection of my excitement for traveling to new places. My reason for traveling is to escape the normal, monotonous patterns that everyday life becomes. Rituals such as showering, eating, going to work, going home, and sleeping become automatic in life. Since most of my time is spent constantly thinking and doing necessary tasks, my time away from home and work becomes very precious. I enjoy the flashy stimulation that cities have to offer, yet crave the peacefulness that I find in observing and being in nature.

In my travels, I am drawn to the rich colors and textures found in places that are typically not noticed in the everyday rituals of our society. The resulting art becomes an emotional response to getting lost in the intricacies and layers that nature presents me with. Organic shapes and tonal structures transform these realities into obscured identities through abstraction and enlargement in my work.

This body of work is an extension of my travels to various parts of the United States, Mexico and Europe. The work began as photographic and written notes that captured texture, color, and emotion. Hand-made paper is used to achieve the rough sense of surface that I find soothing and full of wonder. Many layers of monotype, drawing with chalk pastels, and waxing build up to form my representations of the stories that nature and various places tell me.