My current body of work is titled The Light Within. It’s rooted in the idea of transmigration, the transfer of a soul from one being to another after death. The title suggests that our souls are a light that never burns out. We all age, break down and eventually die, but that inner light lives on. Several of the pieces contain illuminated or gold leaf, chrysalis-like forms. They symbolize that inner light, our soul. Bird imagery or feathers in the work symbolizes the flight of the soul as it leaves one being to inhabit another.

I want a harmonious balance between the work’s theme and the materials/processes I use to create it. Using nuts, leaves, and fungi in the handmade paper or inks points to new life/new beginnings. Branches point to growth and aging. Bones and rust point to death and decay. Like the theme itself, the work has an entire life cycle contained within it.