DETRITUS

When I first moved to New Mexico in 2007, I began weaving structures that were composed of found objects that I picked up on my walks to and from the University. It became an active and addicting joy, to cultivate constant awareness as I looked in gutters, alleys, and sidewalks for discarded elements to collect. Eventually I started painting and drawing these objects, and then began inventing new ones as I went, playing with color and structure. I found I enjoyed pulling the recurring ingredients—feathers, wires, grasses, drinking straws, and the like—from my mental toolkit as much almost as I liked dusting them off in the street. The paintings became about improvisation and discovery within a prescribed form, much like the original, 3-D constructions. The series culminated in an edition of lithographs created in collaboration with Cameron Dye, then in training at the Tamarind Institute.