The nature that she is engulfed with represents a memory, a feeling, and a moment in time. Vine like bundles of natural elements intertwine through, around, and in between each other like nerves and veins in the body. A botanical photography book by my favorite, Karl Blossfeldt, has been one of the most important bookstore finds in my life. It was then that I discover that I wanted to give natural elements a true purpose and personality to the faces. But the decision to use botanical elements has always rooted back to my deepest and darkest memories of death and our universal association to it with nature. Whether it be a connection to certain emotions to imaginary parts of my brain that symbolize relief or a type of solitude necessary, these elements act as a map that document my mind.

Inspirations of early 1900s art forms and portraits of women of that time have been the influence of using the profile as a way to express the tone and mood of my pieces. Early influences are also rooted in the intensity of statues and a fear I had when I was in my teens. The stillness yet emotionally provoking, statues were the inspiration of the eyeless and porcelain softness in the line work of the face. Flipping through a book of photographs by Karl Blossfeldt redefined the detail in the natural elements in my work, acting as much of a primal focus in the piece, and not just supporting element, but one that goes hand in hand with the story. Artists such as Alphonse Mucha and Aubrey Beardsley, just a few from the Art Nouveau movement, are some of my inspirations for the framework and flow of the integrations between all of the residing elements in the work and new ones to come.