For years I have collected used tea bags, their wrappers and their labels. Since 2011, I have been working on an ongoing art project with the common thread being used tea bags and their components. I transform volumes of these everyday items into intricate compositions. The project has evolved into several series of two and three dimensional pieces based on different elements of the tea bags, as well as installations. These pieces were not planned, but rather have been a spontaneous response to the materials I collected. In doing so, I was able to explore variations in composition, repeating patterns, and recurring elements in a deeper way, and from a greater variety of perspectives. The repeated use of the structural elements of the tea bag (wrapper, label, tab, string, bag with tea and emptied, emptied boxes) reveal hidden complexities of distinction and variation.

As a group the pieces are unified, cohesive and coherent, but individually they are all unique. My forms are handmade and irregular rather than manufactured and hard-edged. My rigorous commitment to the chosen material creates a tension between perceptions of the individual elements and the whole. Small safety pins, rough wire forms, tiny strings, and tea bags with added found objects transcend their materiality and become something completely new. In some of the pieces I use the entire tea bag with the tea still inside, whereas in others I use only the paper of the emptied tea bag, or just its wrapper or label. I also sometimes transform the tea bags by altering them, sewing them, rolling them, gluing them, adding found objects to them, or printing on them. The elements blend, almost threatening each other, creating a prototype that is rich, edgy and commanding all at once. The resulting images portray a characteristic and contemporary style that invites individual response and interpretation.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of re-using everyday objects in my art. Creating astonishing visual experiences, my work invites viewers to take a closer look and expand their thoughts about the simple materials that surround us. My combinations of found and handmade objects are extraordinary mixtures of printmaking, sculpture and installation. With both muted and vibrant color, I give weight to the unexpected, making drama and poetry of everyday life.