Like the Richard Dreyfuss character in Close Encounters, who compulsively molds a tower from his mashed potatoes, I am driven to construct representations and abstractions of the human figure. Like a great chef who makes her meals from the fresh produce found at the local market, I build my figures in response to the decidedly un-fresh materials that I find on the street, supplemented by surplus hardware and food. Like any portraitist, I capture the essence of my subject through the use of backdrops and props that help to tell its story.