My work catalogs often unnoticed aspects of nature and people. I use anthropomorphizing and whimsy to celebrate the strength and tenacity of my subjects in a variety of formats—artist’s books, altarpieces and reliquaries. Inspired by medieval aesthetic forms, I create miniature worlds to explain and explore life in inhospitable places and perseverance where none is expected.

To create the paintings, I first apply a white ground to pieces of colored fabric. I manipulate the medium to create a texture on the fabric and to allow some of the color to show through the brush marks. I also encourage threads and fluff to adhere to the ground. Next I draw each image using pen and ink. Finally, I use washes of oils to loosely fill in details and highlights. I aim for lustrous precision to illuminate often overlooked parts of our natural world.

To frame these paintings, I recycle garbage, which also tends be disregarded and makes an excellent symbolic medium. I reconstruct old wooden drawers into boxes, paint on gessoed scraps of old fabric, and add remains --fish skeletons, dead insects, hair, seeds--as souvenirs of life.