Statement

My collage works are multi-dimensional, patchworked narrative scenes populated by illustrated fragments precisely excised from their print homeworlds. They are temporal oddities that collapse depicted events and interactions into simultaneous occurrences. Unlike a film or comic, comparable modes of visual storytelling, there is no order to the plot. The story is a web of connections; any sequence is variable and established by the viewer. I begin each work with a glimmer of intrigue and pull a staggering amount of paper stock- background images, characters, objects and symbols- and whittle the selection down as the story and composition emerge. Discovery, disappointment, and surprise are vital elements, as are my intuitive reactions to them. Whether due to the form of a background image or orientation or scale of a subject, all may be in flux until the glue dries. The final scenes appear as fanciful daydreams or absurd recollections often imagining boyhood, machinery, nature, power, and wonder.

My primary visual and compositional inspirations include the collages of Aldwyth, Keith Maddy, Lance Letscher, and Phyllis Famiglietti; the photographs of Mary Jo Hoffman and Walter Wick; the paintings of Olive Ayhens and Pablo Amaringo; and “splash pages” from 70s and 80s superhero comics.