Artist's Statement

I collect newspapers in different languages from local businesses and immigrant-owned grocery stores and use the newspaper to depict street scenes and sidewalk scenes. I paint with acrylics on the sheets of newspaper, and then organize all the scraps of paper by color and cut them to the shapes I want as I go. I love working with newspaper collage because it’s a way I can draw attention to and celebrate the diverse communities that live in and give life to our landscape, whether by walking down that sidewalk every day on the way to school or starting that business or sometimes actually literally constructing the buildings. Due to my background in urban planning and affordable housing I approach my art primed to notice the physical built environment and the people who are a part of it. Newspaper collage feels like the perfect way to express the depth of meaning that I see in the landscape and want to communicate to others. I hope my work helps you to take a second look at everyday scenes and notice them for their beauty and complexity.