An ongoing area of exploration for me is ritual. I am interested in how pervasive ritual is in cultures throughout the world and in the way rituals become an essential part of life for people even when they may be at a loss to describe in words the full meaning those rituals hold. My work also addresses the rejection of traditional religion, Christianity in particular, and questions how people deal with this loss. Do traditional rituals need to be replaced? If they do, what new rituals are being observed? In my mixed media work the materials are chosen to reflect the types of symbolic materials rituals are made of: Wine, tea, soot, beeswax, handmade paper, flowers, soil, stones, string, wheat, etc. Processes are chosen in a similar way, often involving repetitive actions such as folding paper into packages, holding objects over fire, immersing objects in water or wax, tying string, or saving materials in small bottles. The resulting objects or artifacts, allude to both contemporary and ancient traditions, but are something new. They reflect our ties to nature, religion and history and question our separation from them.