STATEMENT: My work deals with the interaction of color and pattern as well as the relationship between digital and handmade processes. Working between my sketchbook and various design programs on the computer, each piece begins as a series of ideas in the form of smaller designs that are then composed together to form the completed piece. GATHERING: My daily walks have become a regular, meditative gathering place for my ideas, and my lifelong obsession with textile design and the practical and decorative arts drives my interest in imagery that is often associated with this work. These components range from plants and flowers to architectural details, geometric shapes, personal memories, crosswalk stripes, and signage to name a few. I rely heavily on my surroundings for the imagery I utilize, and I collect these elements using photography and my sketchbook. I then return to my studio and begin the process of drawing and refining these seemingly disparate components into abstract motifs, which are even further clarified on the computer. My understanding of textiles and traditional handcrafts has directed me toward using the grid as a basis for organizing these compositions. Despite the graphic and abstract nature of the work, familiar symbols begin to appear. The resulting work attempts to capture the essence of a feeling or place, often connected to a personal story, experience, or memory. MAKING: I grew up surrounded by my mother’s quilts and my father’s enormous rock and gem collection; both of these familial hallmarks also help guide my current body of work. I worked in factories and manufacturing production facilities for many years, and the routine, mechanics, and repetition of this work have served as another touchstone for my studio practice. This interest has recently emerged in some of the imagery I use; gear-like flowers abound, churning and swirling within assembly-line-like conveyor belts, and mechanical, geometric shapes. The conversation between hand and automated processes appears again, reminding me that they are inextricably linked.