“No, the point is not only does time fly and do we die, 

but that in these reckless conditions we live at all, 

and are vouchsafed, for the duration of certain inexplicable moments,

to know it.” 

 -Annie Dillard

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

This body of imagery explores the fragile relationship between humans and the environment and our senseless efforts to collect and control it.

Most of my childhood was spent playing in creeks and woods near our home, collecting bits of nature untouched and unaltered by human hands. I have always felt a connection to the natural world and its contents, and birds are especially fascinating to me.  The more I understand about my work, the more I draw associations to the similarities between the human species and that of the legendary Aves.  

Birds are revered as one of the most intelligent creatures in the world with complex social structures resembling that of humans.  They have been represented in diverse and prominent roles in folklore and religion across the world since the beginnings of human history.  In myth and culture they have been portrayed as messengers, deities, universal guardians, and prophets of truth. Birds communicate using song and body language, the vast majority are monogamous, and they are remarkably equipped to remember precise locations during migration. The male and female also partner in the nurturing of their young. 

Although humans have protected, domesticated, and sustained different breeds of birds, conversely they have caused population decrease and extinction of countless species. Because of the process used in the creation of these images, the tiniest of detail and delicate elements of each specimen are visible, transforming the small and frail into a significant symbol of our existence.