Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I love collages because it feels like a puzzle and I love puzzles. There’s not a right way to do collages and there’s not one collage I’ve seen someone else do that I didn’t like. Plus I love to upcycle and there are hundreds of millions of tons of paper waste. It’s a fun way to use old magazine that may have outdated information. It also is a way to save pretty packaging and not feel bad never seeing it again.

Where do you find inspiration?

I get my photos from magazines and I do print off fun things I find on the internet. When I took a class for 2D art they had an assignment where you made two pictures that were opposite. I had Alice in Wonderland and Satan switch places. It really was the first time my art made sense to other people. It was clear as day what it was, but it still had that abstract feeling. I can do collages without control and it’s great because my whole life is about control and precision because I’m a nurse.

What would you do with $25,000?

I have so many dreams. I wasn’t specifically tied to the money, so I’m sure someone else could use it more. I could’ve definitely used it 5 years ago when I did have a ride to school or a working refrigerated. Now I’m in a very safe environment and I’d love to show people what you can do with collage. It seems messier than it is and I wish more people donated their old magazines. I would possibly use it to buy a house for myself or to pay for school if I really needed a definite place for it.