My collage work conflates the tradition of cutting and pasting with an automatism painting sensibility. The process involves collecting, cutting, configuring, and then painting.
Collecting is a continuous activity in my art practice – I am unable to turn it off and I am in constant look out for things that can be used in my work. Magazines, books, handwritten notes, or a tiny scrap of textured paper are often the triggers that initiate and feed my collage work. The cutting process is a deliberate and focused action, while I do not have the end product visioned at this point, the slow gestures of cutting, selecting and discarding are focused on feeling the line between my mind and my hands. Arranging the cut pieces is experimental; it can be quick and easy or slow and painful, but it is always intuitive. Finding the right combination of cut pieces is like a puzzle, and this point of the work involves trusting the work to lead the way. The painting process is also without conscious thought. The slow application and rhythmic application of brush to paper pulls my images together, creating playful surprises that are instinctual and self-revealing.