Totems & Talismans

This series of wall based assemblages begins with materials that have already lived other lives.

Fragments of vintage adornment, worn textiles, raw canvas, thread, nails, and found objects carry the evidence of their histories. Rather than restoring or preserving or disguising their histories, I embrace them and bring them into new relationships, allowing transformation itself to become the subject while showing people that transformation is more meaningful when we honor what came before. My practice is rooted in the idea of alchemy—not as the pursuit of perfection, but as the possibility that what has been broken apart, forgotten, or outgrown can be reconfigured into something unexpectedly whole. These pieces are reconstructions of materials gleaned from the deconstruction of previous things - transformation in real, physical terms.

Using thread, yarn, nails, and collected materials, I construct quiet assemblages that exist somewhere between painting, textile, and artifact. Large areas of raw canvas remain exposed, allowing emptiness to become an active part of the composition. Suspended within plexiglass vitrines, the works often resemble relics or archaeological discoveries—objects that feel simultaneously ancient and contemporary.

I am interested in the relationship between refinement and rawness, weight and lightness, the earthly and unique luminosity of man made things. Metallic surfaces flash beside humble fibers. Primitive forms coexist with delicate ornament and handwork. Each piece becomes an exploration of whether disparate materials can discover an unexpected harmony.

At the heart of my practice is the belief that transformation is an aesthetic act as much as a spiritual one. By bringing together materials collected over the course of a life, I am exploring how the old can become new without denying its history. The work is about what we preserve and the renewal that results from letting go.

Ultimately, I hope these pieces create a quiet space for contemplation. Rather than asking viewers to look only at the object, I hope they become more aware of the space the object opens within themselves—a place of stillness, memory, possibility and a subtle nudge within their own process of transformation.