Collage

I love the challenge of collaging a variety of books that interest me. When combined, the collage artifacts create a new meaning, yet maintain their original symbolism. Like poetry, when placed correctly, elements can sing. 

While creating this series of works, I was especially inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Her fragmented, lyrical, elocutionary methods reminded me of the elements I was cutting out of books. One of Dickinson’s special gifts as a poet is her ability to describe abstract concepts with concrete images. In many of Dickinson’s poems, abstract ideas and material things are used to explain one another, but the relation between them remains complex and unpredictable. 

These abstractions require a willingness to let the materials work together in an unexpected way. Many times, the themes naturally emerge. I titled many of these works directly after the words of Emily Dickinson, which is ironic because she did not title her own poems.   

Read about my opening exhibition at the Saint Peters Arts Center here.