These pieces all began as several paintings of abstract color play in watercolor, acrylic and rust on paper which were cut apart to find new territories. I stitch my found landscapes together as an act of mending, trying to make sense of the shifting environmental impacts of climate change.
Read more
By stitching landscapes, I navigate the profound disruptions our world faces. Recently, I’ve focused on glaciers as the fragile ‘canaries in a coal mine,’ the first to signal the urgency of our climate crisis. These personal acts of grief honor and uphold the beauty of what once was, offering hope amidst loss.
A significant example is my ten-foot layered cyanotype of Argentina’s Perito Moreno glacier, created over six months to mark its recent ice loss. Once a rare anomaly for its growth until 2020, even this glacier has started to recede—a poignant sign of our climate’s rapid and uncertain shifts. These stitched landscapes represent a search for coherence amid fragmentation, reflecting personal and collective responses to ecological change.
My process involves working with watercolor, acrylic, cyanotype, and rust on paper, exploring abstract color play before dissecting, rearranging, and stitching elements back together. This layered approach allows me to engage deeply with the disruption and chaos in our environment. By using discarded and upcycled materials—oversized vinyl fence banners, leftovers from my process, and more—I highlight their environmental impact and potential for transformation. Through cutting, tearing, and stitching, I push the boundaries of materials and techniques, aiming to transform what is typically seen as waste into reflections of our interconnected world.
My work’s literal and metaphorical stitching acts as a reclamation, challenging our culture’s narrative of disposable and encouraging viewers to see the potential for healing and regeneration. These textured, layered pieces mirror the natural world’s complexity, inviting reflection on how we, too, might contribute to mending rather than merely consuming. I strive to inspire a dialogue about restoration—within our environment and ourselves.
