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I’ve always loved paper. As a child, my house was full of books, magazines, letters, journals and other paper treasures. I’d lose hours flipping through anything... catching snippets of information, looking at pretty pictures, finding articles of interest to delve into. The concept of collage was fascinating to me. These papers were meant to be savored and collected. Destruction within the limits of future creation appealed to me.
Magazines were my gateway medium. easily discarded, they made the perfect learning tool for a burgeoning collagist. A stack of water stained Playboy magazines inherited from my grandfather gave me permission destroy collectibles I’d previously considered “off limits.” I hunted for unwanted gems, intent to turn trash into treasure. Along the way, I fell in love with mid-century imagery—the simplicity, the boldness of design, the time-warp.
Finding images is crucial to my artistic process. A stack of papers printed long before I was born at hand, I feel like a historian settling in for a night of time traveling. I flip through page after page of the past, waiting for something to jump out at me that I have to save. Rending pages from the spines feels criminal, but I tuck them into sorted piles for future use like eggs in a nest. I’ll eventually turn it into something new.
My imagery comes from all over—children’s books; magazines ranging from Popular Science to Seventeen to Playboy; maps & atlases; comic strips & crossword puzzles; wrapping paper, tissue paper, graph paper; fabric and foil. If it can be cut and layered, I’ve collaged it. I love exploring different textures, layering transparencies and thicknesses. I'm drawn to saturated colors, graphic patterns & black-and-white photography. Collage brings together aspects of my interests: collection, design, history, and craft.
I’m inspired by Kodachrome photographs, Robert Rauschenberg’s Charlene, my mama’s perfectly curated flower garden, Eric Carle, antique malls and flea markets, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, dreams, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the music video for Bjork’s “Human Behavior” by michel gondry, my rock collection, ezra jack keats, the rainbow morning-star quilt at my grandma’s house, Amelia and her many notebooks, McDonald's Happy Meal toys, Hand-me-down vintage graphic t-shirts, Nickelodeon magazine, and so much more.
I was born & raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa. I now live & work in Kansas City with my partner, pets & piles of paper.
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