In the last year, I have chased an urge to create beyond my comfort zone. This has fostered my interest in collage and mixing art mediums. 

I have expanded my use of materials, often pulling from little collections I have saved through the years, repurposing items over retiring them to the trash—items like expired bread tags, magazine clippings, and envelopes from letters I will never send. 

There is a conscious effort on my part to avoid the wasteful cycle of consuming only new materials and supplies in order to stay creative and engaged. It is also a practice of respecting where paper goods originate, appreciating what they provide for my creativity, and seeing how that inspires nature-themed imagery in some of my newer art. 

With collaging, I have found that there is something meditative about cutting away and piecing things back together. My artwork has become more about the process and less about predicting or perfecting an outcome. This has allowed me to become both the artist and the spectator as I step back and look at my work to say, “What do I like about this piece? What does it mean?” I work towards continuing to surprise myself and allow space for each piece to inspire the next.