I make maps about the wilderness of social space. The raw materials come from rambling walks punctuated by stops to draw, write, and take photos. I choose spaces to move through both familiar and strange. The resulting works layer physical geography with memories and random images that come to mind while walking. The maps are populated with personas combining what I have seen with what I have imagined about encounters with people, places, and things. Details get piled on in the way that life is lived– in steps, notes, beats, breaths, and marks.
Mapping embodies the particularities of perspective– visual, cultural, and emotional. Traditional maps tell us where we are in space. The mapping methodology I use, deep mapping, aims to capture a sense of place, personal impressions or the shared experience of a group of people. In other words, mapping is a way of knowing not only where we are but also who we are in a particular space. In mapping where we are, the space becomes a place.
Currently living and working in Indianola, Iowa, I spent most of my life in Chicago where I built my career. I have worked as an illustrator, designer, and teacher in higher education. I am now a full-time artist.