2023 Edition

My starting point for this piece begins with found objects and discarded plastics. My inspiration came
from the shapes, colors and textures of these objects as well as the mysteries of their origin. After I
collected this plastic garbage from my rural childhood home town in Saskatchewan, Canada, I brought
it to my studio in Vancouver and began to analyze and arrange it according to it’s unique colors and
materials. The color green (a hue symbolic of growth, regeneration and universally connected with
recycling) as well as the predominance of plastic in these items became the focal point. I spent days
in my studio weaving and braiding an assortment of discarded plastic bags, synthetic ribbons and

plastic coated wires. These weavings, inspired by the matriarch of the home from which these
plastics were gathered, were then combined with other found objects including plastic washing
machine parts, plastic children’s toys, resin coated lockets, plastic buttons and other items in a
variety of synthetic materials.
For me, the action of collaging and assembling is an intuitive process guided by the sculptural quality
of the objects themselves. Once the components of the piece take shape and have purpose, I am
ready to photograph the image.
The self portrait involves a lengthy makeup process to transform my face into a blank canvas,
followed by the addition of color and shape to create background for the plastic sculptures. During
the process of applying items to my skin and building the assemblage around my face and head,
another level of transformation takes place which always feels ceremonial in nature. This lengthy
process is very organic as I prefer to work instinctively rather than previously mapping out a final
product. Through this process, both myself and the collection of recycled materials transform into an
art object. I then take hundreds of photographs to capture all angles of my final work, ultimately
reducing them to the one I feel captures the true essence of the completed work.
I personally source or receive every item used in my work from family, friends or strangers around
the world who want to be part of my work, witness their discarded items transformed into art and be
part of my story.