I am repeatedly drawn to the landscape of Southern Appalachia.

I seek to dig deeper into my connection with the Appalachian Mountains and my family history there. I am continually making work about the river near my house: mica shimmering on its banks, the deep green of waxy rhododendron leaves reflected in the water's flow with mountain laurel and dogwood blooms swirling in the current. Goldenrod, mulberries, and cardinal flowers, as well as rusty barb wire, old glass bottles, and the other manufactured objects that get washed up from the river after a storm. These memories from my childhood and my mountain home are forefront in my mind even as I travel and experience new places and landscapes.

The history + prophecy pieces mostly consist of clay wreath shapes encircling small sleeping creatures. These wreaths offer a portal to landscapes that are disappearing and memories that are fading. They are made up of natural and man made objects: grass, berries, snakes, letters, jewelry, candles, matches, barb wire, a quilt, and many more small details hidden within. This work is an altar, a sacred space, and an offering to the land. By recreating the symbology that I associate with Southern Appalachia I am conceiving a space where the land itself and the memories I hold of it are preserved.