As an artist, my objective is two-fold.  First, I am trying to capture the multiplicity inherent in my heritage.  As a child, being raised by two very traditional parents who originated from a place that encompassed various amounts of traditions and styles has given me a positive outlook.  The dichotomy of being raised with Sicilian traditions, yet being born and educated as an American, allows me the luxury of weaving myself in and out of two cultures. My parents quickly integrated into the American culture, however they kept their own traditions in tact.  This was advantageous for me because my work evolves out of these two worlds.

Second, my interest growing up has always been to abstract from my surroundings.  As a child, I was always more interested in the parts rather than the whole.  Growing up in Astoria, I would always find myself staring across the river into the city.  I would count buildings and windows, I would trace the cracks in the concrete and I would always stare at the Triboro Bridge.  We had a view of the bridge from our kitchen window.  I have always been very interested in structure (i.e. buildings, architecture, brick texture).  I liked to abstract these concrete things into a two-dimensional space.  I have always abstracted from my environment, whether they were actual buildings, nature or textiles. I would also find myself counting lines and patterns in pavements, trees, flowers, grass or anything that is of visual interest.  That is a major starting point for my work.  If I see a particular structure or pattern in nature that holds my interest, I immediately dissect it into a specific framework that becomes visually compelling for me. This intuitive imagery that I feel compelled to make derives from both my compulsion to count and dissect those same elements in my environment into parts. 

There is an obsessive and meditative quality to my work.  This enables me to complete a thought process through the act of repetition. The specific redundant act that occurs in my work defines certain obsessive and compulsive tendencies in my life.  I then translate this tendency into my work.  For me repetition is a meditative process, almost like Mantra chanting or participating in Sunday mass. The same actions are followed week by week and the same result occurs every time.  The repetitive action is also calming and allows one to contemplate.  In terms of my art, even though the same actions are taken every time, the outcome and interpretation varies.  This variation is what fascinates me.  What is important for me is the repetitive action of counting and tracing these elements.  I find resolution in compulsive acts of painting.