I went to Russia in July of 1999, expecting to come back with imagery to paint, but I found Russia confusing and veiled. As my body of work began to form I found I was focusing on several different kinds of arrangements. Some like machines, complicated, with each directional line and shape firmly interlocked. Others monumental, frontal and tightly cropped.

Along the shoreline near my home I gathered shards of pottery of all colors and patterns, worn from the sea, crackled and stained. The mix of decoration and age in these shards reminded me of the worn facade of St. Basil’s. I used them to created frames encrusted with mosaic. I also fashioned frames using steel, rust and cement, reflecting the starkness of Soviet architecture.