My making begins with a natural scavenger hunt of the world around me. I often become a watcher, an observer, sometimes feeling like a voyeuristic outsider searching for the inspiration that presents itself throughout my path of travel. My inspiration often navigates throughout the unwanted elements of nature while making brief visits within the desired ones. I am in awe of the things we don’t want to see as well as the items that are considered attractive. Imagery of decomposing animal flesh, rotting vegetation, blossoming botanicals, textures on tree bark and oyster shells: these are some of the components that prompt my visual language. I receive these optical specimens and transform them in a manner that is slightly tolerable to experience, almost to the point of gratification. The transformation typically begins with delicately rendered pen and ink graphic drawings on paper and translucent media. The drawings are produced with elegance which in turn allows them to live on the aesthetic plane. Some of my studies are broken down into abstracted versions executed through site specific installations and collages. These works exist as two series that connect; Decomposed and Flourished, both series are observations of the various stages and occurrences of natural life rendered through many variations of the act of drawing.

• Much Like Real Life: MFA Low-Residency 2020 Alumni