A new family moved in near the end of high school. Their kitchen cabinet pulls had painted symbols — simple at first, later I learned they were hoboglyphs, signs that point to water, kindness, quiet, or direction. That idea shapes this work: abstract marks that signal small and deep truths and my bond with the land.

During weekly walks at Kratzsch Conservancy in Newburg, Wisconsin, I used the residency to be alone and present. The walks set my rhythm — thought and sight together — until shapes turned into ideas and ideas into things. Back in my studio, I used vintage timecards and translated those days into 11" x 15" paper collages: memory records, visual notes of what I saw, thought, and felt. In short, these pieces map my story.