My ideas come to me as visions. Many times these visions come from the hypnogogic state known as the unconscious middle zone between wake and sleep. Once I receive an image, I follow up with extensive photo research. Working with photos is a great reference tool for me, but is simply a launching pad, not the destination. The strength of my work lies in the reconciliation of opposites -- the humdrumness of urban living with the dream of utopia based in nature, and the exaltation of the fragile over the powerful, are recurring themes in my work. With the use of composite imagery and shifts of scale between everyday scenes, situations and common objects, I weave a tapestry blending threads of satire, irony, conflict, and hope.
