I am a photographer whose heart lies in the process beyond the click of the shutter.
This statement was true long before the days of digital technology’s consumption of the photography market. Never one to identify as a conventional photographer, I have always found it more interesting to use an image as a starting point and incorporate experimental practices of processing and developing.
Early in my photographic explorations, I bleached and toned prints, played with pinhole and plastic cameras, experimented with 19th century processes such as Van Dyke Brown, Cyanotypes and Gum Dichromates, and pushed boundaries when working with Polaroid lifts and transfers. As digital photography became more prevalent, traditional methods of developing and printing became more difficult to accomplish at a local level. Widespread use of digital photography changed my goals for the medium. The challenge became retaining a deliberate hands-on approach in processing digital imagery.
My focus shifted from experimental darkroom processing to incorporating mix media and digital printmaking in creating one-of-a-kind imagery. I currently capture and edit digitally before printing and layering those images onto a variety of surfaces including wood, metal, paper and fabrics. My process intimately connects and physically engages me with the material used to create the works, keeping my practice authentic and fresh. The more I experiment with process, the wider the possibilities become of what a photograph can be.