Original artwork description:

My work is rooted in the concept of 'belonging.' Each collage is a new step along a winding path in the search for home, for family, for connection. The pieces in this series are built in a succession of layers on cradled birch panels. The base layer for each is vintage papers – letters, diary pages, ledger pages – with color added using oil pastel. Vintage floral illustrations, old photos, and little houses made of handmade papers are added next, and the final layer of color is then applied using colored pencils and acrylic ink. Each house, its inhabitants – almost always people I don't know, long gone, sourced from flea markets and yard sales – and the elements of a garden offer a sense of place, and a window into a story – for me and, hopefully, for the viewer.

Materials used:

paper, oil pastel, colored pencil