My altoid dioramas are meant to preserve and safeguard some small token of the memories, dreams, and beliefs we hold closest to our hearts. There is something about an art piece that is small enough to cradle in the palm of your hands and sturdy enough to carry around with you in your pocket that speaks to a deeply intimate experience. Whether my art depicts a nostalgic scene from childhood, a deeply held political belief, a moment from history, a restorative hobby, or an imagined place in your mind where you go when you need to re-center, there is a through-line in all of my work of sacredness and vulnerability.
These qualities are set in contrast to the actual materials used to create the work – magazine paper, tiny pen and marker drawings, bits from the recycling bin, paper and wire and glue are all arranged within discarded altoid tins. My altoid dioramas are art and craft, simple and intricate, small and significant, accessible and layered, practical and indulgent. They are delightful and disarming, sometimes devastating to behold.
