I make process-based works using paper I've accumulated over twenty-odd years. Starting from a set of instructions, they are purely abstract, except for the one that was clearly inspired by a cloud.
Mistakes I make in following my own rules create error-driven compositions that feel fundamentally human. They're messy; they're fragmented; they're thoughts running over thoughts. My attempts to repair these missteps become a literal "paper trail," a permanent record of my actions.
The papers themselves are also a document. Their provenance traces my life and the changing landscape of places I've lived. Per the instructions, every tiny scrap is conserved, introducing miniscule details. The small scale of the pieces encourages an intimate connection, inviting you to come closer and see how they were made. An algorithm would never.
I hold on to paper. I keep scraps from crafting, extras from projects, and just anything I could maybe use one day. Some of these are decades old; all are memories. But not all the memories are mine. I also go to estate sales and flea markets and salvage other people's paper with the same impulse that makes me unable to throw out my own.
Box divider:
Divider from a box of candles.
Cardstock (blue, red):
From a presentation at the Art Directors Club.
Cardstock (orange, purple, yellow):
Scraps from 110lb cardstock.
Cardstock (pink, white):
Light-weight cardstock for folding.
Chipboard:
Backing inserts from packs of new photo paper and cardstock.
Comic board:
Retired comic book backing boards from the 1980s and 90s.
Copy paper:
Left over from wedding menus in 2014.
Cotton paper:
Liner from a box of vintage carbon paper.
Dollhouse wallpaper:
1:12 miniature dollhouse wallpaper from 1976. I got this outside the thrift shop off Cortelyou around 2009. Some of the sheets are sun-bleached from hanging up in my living room without UV protection.
Engineering paper, graph paper, laid paper:
A wealth of paper from the last day of the Westbeth Artists Housing Flea Market in 2023.
Envelope:
Montclair Stationery used to sell bundles of assorted envelopes, which I think were leftovers from their greeting card section.
Letterpressed card:
Extra wedding invitations from 2014.
Matboard:
Matboard scraps from a framing shop.
Medieval Times crown:
Guest crown from Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament.
Onionskin:
From a very old box of office supplies for Sears, Roebuck and Co. in Passaic, open 1929-1974.
Onionskin letterhead:
Demurrage and storage companies collect fees levied in commercial shipping. From Englishtown Antiques.
Origami paper:
Picked up at a stoop sale for 50¢.
Packing cardboard (strip):
A nice little strip of cardboard I couldn't throw away.
Packing cardboard (No. 1):
Insert from a takeout bag.
Stardream cardstock:
Samples for wedding invitations from 2009.
Tracing paper:
Old pages from a Blick pad I use for sketching out ideas.
Waxed paper:
Backing strips from peel-and-seal envelopes for greeting card orders.
