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I am a mixed media artist with an affinity for transforming old and discarded items into new pieces of art, an act that I find gives me an optimistic view of the world. Opportunities for positive change and fluid movement through life are all around us. By creating art via repurposing and repositioning materials, I gain fresh perspective and expand my awareness of how colors, textures and shapes relate to one another. My goal is to present this new way of seeing things in an unusual and visually interesting way. To explore the juxtaposition between repurposed materials and new, I mix unrelated ingredients (such as vintage paper sewing patterns and metallic paint) in order to create a new context for looking at each medium. Often I will use a random, chance-based, largely aleatoric process in arranging pieces of materials, rather than overly planning my steps. My favorite materials are acrylic paint, found and new patterned paper, and the pages of damaged books. I often add extra elements such as pencil, pen, gouache and canvas pieces cut from earlier work to complement the mix of materials applied to stretched canvas or wood panel. My background in design inspires me to make diptychs and triptychs that tell a story, and I am often drawn to creating a series of pieces that are connected by repeating a color, style or theme. My newest abstract collage work this year is a series of 20 x 20" mosaic-style landscapes that incorporate antique postcards, rice paper and brightly colored paint. Another new abstract landscape series, Buildings & Trees (2014) incorporates discarded children's books, tissue paper and gouache.