ARTISTS STATEMENT

My work is inspired by my environment. Most of my adult life I have been living in rural areas. This exposure to wilderness has created a bond with a variety of local species. In conjunction, my wildly adventurous and sometimes lustful daydreaming feeds my active imagination In my work, these two influences combine to create a wide breadth of imagined atmospheres that in some way, portray a certain level of unattainable fulfillment.

With an interest in making environments, objects, drawings, and prints reflective of this investigation, I find myself attracted to a macabre and abject sense of design. My work appears enchanting, yet upon closer inspection reveals a peculiar darkness. Tactile material choices such as sugar, found objects, personal relics, and natural artifacts act as metaphors for my dreamy sensibility. I surround myself with everyday objects that inspire me and in turn always seek pieces that will comfort me. These effects become the basis for my projects which explore a relationship between a healthy fulfillment and a sickly excess. Together these objects, combined with layers of memories, transform and manifest into a fantasy environment where I can create a temporary daydream landscape. The continued pattern of hunting, gathering, and building never seems to satisfy matters of longing that transpire within my work.

My recent work, The Predator, Prey, Scavenger Project, is influenced by a variety of everyday remote and wild happenings, i.e. coyote chasing a rabbit, an owl hunting mice, turkey vultures feasting on a rotting carcass, a man patiently waiting for buck.

I am captivated by the cycle of the hunter and the hunted; whether this relationship is between man and animal or vice a versa. With great attention and curiosity I witness and track the sequence of the predator, prey, and scavenger. With this information, I interpret events of my studies and create a macabre landscape for my story to grow.