INCARNATE, 2021

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who need to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, your eyes have dropped out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Margery Williams Bianco, *The Velveteen Rabbit*

These paintings start with photographs where water covers the camera lens, obscuring the landscape. The photograph is then covered with glass, and the surface is etched. Layers of pigment, water, pencil, and text are applied, with each layer being lightly sanded away before another is added. The goal is to create a marker of history that is layered, washed away, and reapplied. The paintings symbolize history, the landscape, and our perception of the world. The intentional flaws in the paintings serve as markers for the scars of life, which add beauty. The text within the paintings is a blend of prayers, history, and geological data.