Curiosity, attraction and sometimes revulsion towards the human body activates me to work. I find my way in to each piece by responding to an 'event' on the body that pulls me in visually. Then, while I’m immersed in the task of working out the forms, the content begins to surface. I have books surrounding me at my easel and sometimes sitting on my lap while I’m working: Grimm’s fairy tales, Italian folk tales, books about trees, books about symbolism, religious books, picture books. I’m constantly chewing and chewing on these things. What I absorb helps me decide what forms to include in my compositions and how to configure the parts; like objects in a dream. When I’m making a picture its like I’m slowly having a dream over a period of weeks and weeks.  In the end I’m always surprised to find out what I really mean.