This series of work stems from my interest in nature and "place". Like many
children, I was always rooting around on the ground collecting interesting
insects, seed pods, flowers, and stones. Insects, with their complex, alien
structures, particularly fascinated me; I could give the common name for most
of those inhabiting the East Coast, and collected them voraciously with no
small amount of cruelty. I continue to be interested in small natural forms,
rather than larger animals, though my present collecting is accomplished through
the lens of a camera or by finding dead specimens. Though the images are very
realistic, it was important to me to render them rather than photograph them,
as the depicting of forms requires a greater amount of study and intimacy.
Visually, the pieces are influenced by 18th and 19th century engravings of
flora and fauna. Like the engravings, my work unites the often estranged realms
of art and science. Most of these were black and white, though they were sometimes
hand colored. In my watercolors, color becomes very prominent, and the borders
interact with the specimens as color studies.
