Collages

Most of my pieces are expressions of a very particular moment: I create images about specific events and phenomena I have been part of, I have witnessed, or I have contemplated, and about how this experience or knowledge has affected me or others. These can be happy or sad moments, moments of surprise, moments of truth.

To create these snapshots, I take bits and pieces from various paper sources and bring them together forming new sceneries and new interactions. I work with all sorts of printed paper but especially with old storybooks which I find at thrift stores and garage sales. I use all parts of books, from their covers and fly leaves to entire book pages or just their yellowed edges, to clippings of figures, objects, and words. For me, it is about the many told and untold stories embedded in each book: What is this book about? What are the characters like, what obstacles do they encounter, what do they feel? And also, who wrote the book and why? Who bought the book, who gave it to whom, who read it, when and where, what did the readers think about the story, did the book move or inspire the reader, has the book been read at all?

To most questions I will not have an answer. I am not even looking for answers. But the stories are there, nonetheless. They are contained in and absorbed by each book, therefore every little scrap of paper that I use for my images is an authentic piece of those manifold stories. That is why I avoid photocopies of old illustrations and commercial collage paper packs but only use original book scraps and clippings, no matter how brittle, wrinkled or discolored they are.

In addition to the paper elements in my collage work, I sometimes use acrylic paint or watercolor to create a sky or a landscape as part of the background scenery. I use ink for shading and blending, and sewing thread to emphasize moments of fragility and strong holds.

I have sealed each collage with multiple layers of archival varnish to make the surfaces durable and protect them against UV damage. Each original work is mounted in a hand-built wooden floater frame and ready to hang. Fine art prints are available in various sizes.