Using paper I collect from damaged and discarded books, I make collage paintings that are stylized or enhanced with gouache, acrylic, and graphite. I am interested in the singular pursuit of the imagery, narrative, and pleasure I find in the American short story as an art form. I’m drawn to the papers and books presumably cast off during a move or after the death of a family member. The spectral characters and forms born of the inscriptions and marginal notes of the dead books inhabit my process. They help narrate my shadow memories, deconstruct inherited trauma, and render the visual clarity that emerges from recovery. Each piece captures the indifference of the universe as it imparts a moment in which everything changes.