Onion, 2024

Water color and colored pencil on repurposed book and found papers

11 x 17 x 2 in.

This watercolor and colored pencil work on repurposed book and found papers exemplifies my ongoing exploration of material history, domestic symbolism, and subtle observation. Throughout my practice, I use salvaged and discarded substrates as both surface and subject-allowing the wear, stains, tape, and structural remnants of the book to remain visible. These traces are not incidental; they function as collaborators, carrying evidence of prior use and time. By layering a carefully rendered, humble object-here, a single onion-onto this already marked ground, I create a dialogue between permanence and impermanence, fragility and endurance.

The integration of watercolor and colored pencil allows for a balance between translucency and precision, reinforcing the tension between delicacy and structure that recurs throughout my body of work. The exposed binding materials and visible repairs underscore themes of mending, preservation, and adaptation-ideas that resonate with my broader commitment to reuse and transformation.

Ultimately, this piece fits within my larger practice as a meditation on material memory and quiet resilience, where ordinary objects and reclaimed surfaces become sites of contemplation and subtle reverence.