Nature was dirty. Food couldn’t grow on trees. Breakfast was cupcakes.

This upbringing actually propelled me into a state of curiosity later in life, pushed me into a mode of conservation and sustainability, into a yearning for tradition. Birds at my feeder, plants I grew up with never knowing their names, fruits I never tasted, cycles and seasons I depend on are all part of these curiosities, and a basis for art-making.

I am drawn to different approaches to spirituality, and especially to the concept of ritual. Ritual is a means of elevating the importance of simple gestures and observations. One's senses are heightened, and actions are pared down to only those most vital. Every decision in ritual is imbued with an intent. I use ritual in my art as both a working method, and a subject of exploration. What rituals are a part of my life? What traditions have I inherited, adopted, or invented?

I may not know the stories of my ancestors, but I know historically what the women of my family did in their daily lives. I question why the nature of their work became associated with inferiority. Are the duties termed “women’s work” intrinsically less important? Or was that stigma applied in the face of their subjugation to that role? Food makes appearances in my work as a reference to this history, and also as a concern for what we have lost as a culture today with the prevalence of fast and cheap food.

I enjoy repetition as a means of art-making, in the ways it relates to prayer, and in the ways it references methods of learning that I embraced as a child. The rosary beads, the flashcards are still with me as a working process. Accidental and unforeseen elements are welcome in my work, be they in the form of an experimental camera, or where a tea stain interacts with an important element in a photograph. Pieces become collaborations with the nature of circumstance rather than a domination of the elements.

Food growing on trees is my inspiration. Reconnecting with such basics makes sense. It transforms my artwork into my own personal alchemy of creating order, understanding, and magic in the mundane.