Now, there are a lot of collage artists out there, but I happen to chose the most difficult route ( I know, classic) when creating my art. I deconstruct the pieces  in front of me, making a total mess of my art space with paper scraps constantly being sucked up into the vacuum when cleaning, and reconstruct them into what I almost feel is like a puzzle without pre-defined pieces. There is just something about placing these individual pieces that indicates to me when to know it is in the 'right' place. Other times, I will create a draft with pre-cut material I think might work well together.  As you can see by some of the art in the images, these collages can get quite intricate, and the have been known to take months to create. (Sorry art teachers! I am not an art factory!) 

Deep underneath the commercial grumblings of our marketing media that is constantly pushed to us as a society, I feel that there are conversations that aren't being captured, voices that are being smothered by the capitalistic salesman pitches, and ideas that are being snuffed out due to the sheer volume of ads we recieve on a daily basis.  By re-purposing this material, it has shown me that we can bring those voices and creativity to the forefront, and showcase a more beautiful life of possibilities other than just buying and spending your life away.  Capitalism can really take a toll on the mind, and if you're struggling to navigate it, it can also take a toll on your wallet. While this purchasing power-culture can do a lot of good in the world  as well, this is my means of fighting back against the negative impacts of constant beratement from ads and selling tactics. 

The beauty of the digital age is that where we no longer need to create printed material in order to collage it anymore! I work in both digital and physical material, as I like to ability to 'move between worlds.' While physical collages are more intricate, time consuming, and essentially a meditation of myself, the digital world allows me to play nimbly and without fear of ruining some of my more precious cuts I've saved. It also opens up a whole world of digital material I can 'clip' from easily, making the process of art creation more scalable and quick. 

It can take anywhere from weeks to months to product a unique single large sized analog collage. Part of this process relies on sourcing pre-printed material. Ideally printed material is sourced from unique cities or regions that help define the art's personality when finished. For example, the collage 'Clarity', from May 2020 was created using  street stickers and unique graphics from the vibrant art district  in Miami, FL during the pandemic when the streets were empty.

Sourcing the materials for a collage is just as important as piecing it toghether as it adds to the origin, and this can take time in order to make the materials unique.