I use my own refuse, and the discards and remains of others, to address timely environmental issues. With a strong sense of place, the work examines our own suburban backyards, our ecosystems, South Florida, and our home – planet Earth. Heavily observational, and research based, my co-conspirators in artistic practice are often scientists, whose guidance in double checking accuracy of scientific fact and the literacy of my visuals allow me to give free reign to modes of visual communication such as surrealism, palimpsest-based collage, concrete poetry, or performative play.

This practice hones my own awareness of my responsibility as an environmental artist to take the words in Weintraub’s treaty, “What’s Next?” to heart and use the materials I already have including the random remains of deceased friends’ and relatives’ closets and studios, in a serious non-consumer exercise. I often fail, buying glue by the gallon, and discovering I can’t keep pace with the shelf life of some things I have accumulated. But the ideas, images, and materials create a dialogue in the studio where it ceases to be possible to determine which inspired or determined which. Do I make art faster, or curb my own supply of trash?

My work is heavily influenced by my own compulsions and aversions. Both of these opposing forces draw me in. By using media, accumulated, inherited or unwanted, to determine my art, I now find I use color where I did not, I use the language of surrealism which previously I looked past. I rip and glue, to create elegance from mundane fragments. I cannibalize my own work, my notes, my sketches, my ephemera, rejecting preciousness and reducing my footprint. All this to evoke discourse, create narratives, and to concretize the storytelling of life on earth, albeit dire and beautiful.

I use refuse, discards, and remains, to address timely environmental issues. The work examines suburban backyards, ecosystems, South Florida, and Earth. Heavily observational and research based, my co-conspirators in artistic practice are scientists, whose guidance in double-checking accuracy of scientific fact, and the literacy of my visuals, gives me free reign to modes of visual communication such as surrealism, palimpsest-based collage, concrete poetry, or performative play.

This practice hones my awareness of my responsibility as an environmental artist. I take Weintraub’s treatise, “What’s Next?” to heart and use the materials I have, including remnants from the closets and studios of deceased friends and relatives. It is a non-consumer exercise. I often fail, buying glue by the gallon, and discovering I can’t keep pace with the shelf life of things I have accumulated. These ideas, images, and materials, create a dialogue, becoming impossible to determine which inspired which.

My work is heavily influenced by my compulsions and aversions. These opposing forces draw me in. Through media, accumulated, inherited or unwanted, I use color where I did not, and the language of surrealism, which previously I looked past. All this evokes discourse, creates narrative, and concretizes the storytelling of life on earth.