Artist Statement

Immersed in material explorations of cork, I manipulate and explore its inherent properties. During the process of cutting, slicing, sanding, breaking down the material I’ve realized cork has an obstinate ability to grip, withstand compression, and to respond to destruction with resilience much like the cork tree itself which over its 200 year life has its bark stripped and harvested every 9 years and each time, it responds to the damage and regenerates with a remarkable capacity.
Because of these observations and working with cork as a material, I began to realize parallels between my work and the greater world where consumerism/capitalism/humanity has a prevailing resolve to harvest resources from earth.
In my explorations of cork and the integration of wool & metal, I am considering the relationship between injury, resilience and regeneration. I am inspired by our environment and its regenerative qualities which informs my process as I examine the idea of regeneration as often seen in organic living things such as the protective barrier of a chrysalis or growth of ubiquitous spines.