The creative process of the To: & From:  began with a pile of National Geographic Magazines from the 70s, calendars lost on top shelves, and old children’s books collecting dust. Amused with the chaos and interest of the images, I was inspired to start producing collages. After the the most intriguing and random images were unearthed from the piles of scrap, I was left to work with what would be the subjects of the strange,  imaginative stories of "To: and From: A Collaboration of Art and Prose.

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From these collages came postcards, and from these, the large body of work that made up the two month long solo exhibition at CIA Cafe. After creating the life-size paintings, I took a step back and wondered how myself or others might tell a story of each piece. I began writing intricate stories on each postcard to match its piece, all written to and from imaged characters of a story that I felt best fit the pieces. 

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Prompted by my desire to involve others in my pieces in a collaborative way, I placed mailboxes under each piece in the exhibition filled with each piece's consecutive postcards. The public was free to use their imagination and interact with the art as they wrote their own stories "to:" whoever they wished, "From:" whoever they wished. on the postcards

 

By the end of the two month long exhibition, the mailboxes were filled with whimsical stories and narratives of the pieces, some sounded like the anonymous viewer's day up until they had stumbled upon the work at the cafe, and other contained monkeys from space and flying cars. Whatever anyone felt inspired to write, it was amazing to experience this collaborative storytelling conversation with the public through my artwork. 

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