The need to balance desires and responsibilities can be seen as one constant chaotic event. Through grace and perseverance, balance is often achieved until a situation or circumstance inevitably causes an element of collapse. This seeming failure, however, is only one aspect of the dichotomous nature of life.

Using rocks and planks as metaphors for individuals and their direction in life, my artwork strives to investigate the curiosity of continual contradiction that encompasses the growth process. I explore how paths seem impassable, yet we traverse them; how we constantly depend and interact with one another, yet often feel alone; how we are able to simultaneously build and collapse.

The Detritus vs. Progress series specifically deals with that element of collapse. When an event creates collapse in our lives, what do we do with it? How can we turn a “collapse” into an opportunity for growth? Working on new media (aquaboard and clayboard), these images investigate the above questions each with their own unique challenges. For example, in Trash pile II: Unconsumable Consumables, 2014, a shovel stands ready for the materials in the image to be placed in the oven, to get rid of that trash pile. However, only one object in that image could be burned for fuel. In Trash pile 1:Wheel Barrow, 2014, the wheel barrow presented with the detritus gives the viewer the opportunity to build from the collapse, but not without great effort. Lastly, in Recycled Piping, 2014, nature takes over and does the job for us.

These images invite the viewer to analyze the collapse in their own lives, investigate solutions, and ponder how to move forward to create growth.