Art is the arrangement of things in a space, leaving evidence of a thoughtful mind engaged in creativity. Whenever, wherever we practice art in our lives, we use our imaginations to entertain ourselves and alter our world, which is, for some, the greatest joy in living.
This truth applies to my collage making process, wherein my primary objective is the creation of well balanced compositions of visual dramas to please my own aesthetic sensibilities. A creative practice is a wonderful means of satisfying dopamine cravings.
I have always been attracted to printed matter, especially reproductions of photographs and paintings in books and magazines, and even more especially those that predate my birth. Regular exposure to these historic artifacts allows me to live vicariously in a time before I was born, thus expanding my life experience, broadening my perspective, and giving me greater understanding of the big picture.
Discarded and decommissioned books are held dear in my collage laboratory, as the mission is to give new purpose to paper past its primary objective. This new purpose—decorative candy for the eyes and mind—is evidence of the creative spirit breathing new life into the refuse of our disregarded past.
The formerly disconnected subject matter within each collage comes together to create a new window into surreality, eventually causing the brain to make attempts to connect the dots, so to speak: to look for reasons, or imagine stories. Every collage begins with an impulse to create something new and interesting to see, and becomes unpredictable and entertaining mental exercise. Through my practice, I simply aspire to create visual art that is captivating, interesting, beautiful, and light-hearted, and ideally inspires a touch of wonder.
It is my hope that the joy I find in creative exercise, and the final presentation of the results, will create sparks in the lives of others, thereby bringing more light into the truly amazing world we share.
All images on this site are digital scans
of hand-made physical objects.