Every corner in a house, every angle in a room, every inch of secluded space in which we like to hide, or withdraw into ourselves, is a symbol of solitude for the imagination.
-- Gaston Bachelard

When experiencing the world, one cannot overlook the structures that surround us and give us shelter.  The house itself is our first world.  Structures house our dreams, memories, secrets and failures.  Each space and corner represents a time in our lives. Aged structures retain a history of the experiences and thoughts of its inhabitants.

Memories rub off the insides and outsides of the spaces that exist and become a part of us, whether it is our memories of a similar place or the building’s memories of other inhabitants. Architecture is like a man made garden with buildings sprouting up instead of flowers, their overcrowding like weeds in our environment. It is a love hate relationship between the necessity of shelter and the taking away of space. I am inspired by its dichotomy of beauty and ugliness, necessary protection and excessive luxury

When visiting a place, I document my experience with photographs. I photograph curious spaces and ones which have history. I try to pare down the intricate decorative elements and shapes which speak the most of a place. I leave the silhouettes of the new structures and instill them with my own thoughts and memories. The impression that is left acknowledges the experience.

My paintings are object like.  They reference wood boxes and protrude off the wall more than a painting on canvas.  Because of their small scale, the "boxes" have a precious quality, which is increased by the way they are created.  Small objects create a sense of nostalgia, which I feel while I am painting them.

I place the paintings in my lap in close proximity to my body.  The layering of memories, in addition to transparent and opaque painted layers, illustrates the wisps of thought that arise when remembering a specific location. Painting in such a devoted way, will hopefully reflect the closeness of the viewer’s gaze. The idea that the viewer will share the same space as I while creating the painting is fascinating. Sharing an experience through an object relates to the idea of memories contained in a space. The process of constructing the “boxes” and then painting them is vital to me.

We live in a world where structures are like weeds overtaking a garden. However, sometimes it is the overlooked weeds that are the most fascinating of all.