While taking my parent's advice and majoring in science at American University in Washington, D.C., I also took several art classes. Washington in the Reagan 80s, in a military family, was a good place to learn cynicism and a fascination with power. I was provided an alternate view of the world through the Smithsonian's art collections, which had first made an impression on me in childhood. The paradox of humanity's potential for creativity, measured against its penchant for ignorance and cruelty, continues to intrigue me.

I enjoy found objects, especially those in decay. To me, this symbolizes the temporary nature of existence, and comments on consumerism and pollution. I began using pop imagery after a conservation corps job fishing colorful trash from streams. I like to distill my images into simpler fields of color, reflecting the way art, through graphic design, has helped reduce the world into marketable products. Also, the power of symbols has always attracted me: numbers, which make math and science possible; letters, which represent language; colors and shapes, with their emotional overtones; and military, sports, and corporate emblems, which provide a sense of belonging. I feel an influence from the omnipresent Window's computer environment as well, in my layering of images.

History fascinates me, and I am rather nostalgic. Humor and an appreciation of the absurd are very important in my life; I enjoy combining disparate images and objects as a form of brainstorming. In my art I invite the viewer to join me in seeking the meaning connecting the images that attract me.