A View From the Easel

The studio is located in a former second high school that now functions as a community center, and the artist’s room previously served as a chemistry lab. Work happens four to five days per week, typically starting around 11am or noon and continuing until the building closes around 9pm. Daily tasks begin with physical preparation such as sanding, staining, and scorching reclaimed fence panels or wood, producing sawdust, paper scraps, and metallic foil flakes. After prep, research and making take over through pulling images from books, magazines, and the internet, printing, and cutting paper for hours. The space is filled with art books, catalogs, Barbie dolls, and Funko Pops, and a retro teal mini fridge is frequently raided by a six-year-old granddaughter and friends.

"My studio is in my town's former second high school, now a community center, and my room used to be a chemistry lab - which feels fitting, because a lot of what I do is about transformation."

"My days usually start with the physical prep - sanding, staining, sometimes scorching reclaimed fence panels or wood. On any given day, there are piles of sawdust on the floor, mixed in with scraps of paper and metallic foil flakes that somehow get everywhere."

"After that, I move into research - pulling images from books, magazines, and the internet, printing, and then cutting paper for hours. That part is meditative for me. It's quiet, repetitive, and where a lot of ideas really take shape."

"The space itself is full of inspiration: stacks of art books and catalogs, plus a growing collection of Barbie dolls and Funko Pops. The Barbies belong to my six-year-old granddaughter, who sometimes joins me in the studio to paint. She - and honestly, some of my friends - love to raid my retro teal mini fridge"

Read at Hyperallergic