Three- dimensional paper house. 1:12 scale replica of an abandoned house. + Enlarge
105 Rupert Road 03 2018 Drypoint on plexiglass with paper construction 14 x 12 x 12
Three- dimensional paper house. 1:12 scale replica of an abandoned house. + Enlarge
105 Rupert Road 04 2018 Drypoint on plexiglass with paper construction 14 x 12 x 12
Three- dimensional paper house. 1:12 scale replica of an abandoned house. + Enlarge
105 Rupert Road 05 2018 Drypoint on plexiglass with paper construction 14 x 12 x 12
Three- dimensional paper house. 1:12 scale replica of an abandoned house. + Enlarge
105 Rupert Road 02 2018 Drypoint on plexiglass with paper construction 14 x 12 x 12
Three- dimensional paper house. 1:12 scale replica of an abandoned house. + Enlarge
105 Rupert Road 01 2018 Drypoint on plexiglass with paper construction 14 x 12 x 12
Objects of importance to my father, strewn about in Michaux State Forest. + Enlarge
Brian's Childhood 2019 Copper etching 11 x 15 in
One of Centralia's three remaining cemeteries with a church behind it. Black and white, with the church tinted yellow. + Enlarge
The Church is Gone But the Cemetery Still Remains 2019 Copper etching with chine- colle 11 x 15 in
Paradise Under I- 83 + Enlarge
Paradise Under I-83 2020 Copper etching 18 x 24 in
Various photographs of York County, such as abandoned railroad tracks and houses. + Enlarge
Photos of York County, PA 01 2020 Photographs
Various photographs of York County, such as abandoned railroad tracks and houses. + Enlarge
Photos of York County, PA 02 2020 Photographs
Various photographs of York County, such as abandoned railroad tracks and houses. + Enlarge
Photos of York County, PA 03 2020 Photographs
Various photographs of York County, such as abandoned railroad tracks and houses. + Enlarge
Photos of York County, PA 04 2020 Photogtaphs
Various photographs of York County, such as abandoned railroad tracks and houses. + Enlarge
Photos of York County, PA 05 2020 Photographs
Faux- laroids. Photo transfers. 3.5 x 4 in each + Enlarge
Faux- laroids 01 2019 Photo transfers
Faux- laroids. Photo transfers. 3.5 x 4 in each + Enlarge
Faux- laroids 02 2019 Photo transfers
Faux- laroids. Photo transfers. 3.5 x 4 in each + Enlarge
Faux- laroids 03 2019 Photo transfers
Small copper etchings of various abandoned buildings I have photographed over the years. + Enlarge
Collapsed Memories 01 2019 Copper etching with chine-colle 11 x 15 in each
Small copper etchings of various abandoned buildings I have photographed over the years. + Enlarge
Collapsed Memories 02 2019 Copper etching with chine-colle 11 x 15 in each
Small copper etchings of various abandoned buildings I have photographed over the years. + Enlarge
Collapsed Memories 03 2019 Copper etching with chine-colle 11 x 15 in each
Small copper etchings of various abandoned buildings I have photographed over the years. + Enlarge
Collapsed Memories 04 2019 Copper etching with chine-colle 11 x 15 in each
Small copper etchings of various abandoned buildings I have photographed over the years. + Enlarge
Collapsed Memories 05 2019 Copper etching with chine-colle 11 x 15 in each
Three- dimensional wood replica of a tudor style house. Inside images are of the kitchen, living room, and upstairs. + Enlarge
To Be 15 Again, Riding a Bike Through Old East York 01 2020 Wood 14 x 24 x 12 in
Three- dimensional wood replica of a tudor style house. Inside images are of the kitchen, living room, and upstairs. + Enlarge
To Be 15 Again, Riding a Bike Through Old East York 02 2020 Wood 14 x 24 x 12 in
Three- dimensional wood replica of a tudor style house. Inside images are of the kitchen, living room, and upstairs. + Enlarge
To Be 15 Again, Riding a Bike Through Old East York 03 2020 Wood 14 x 24 x 12 in
Three- dimensional wood replica of a tudor style house. Inside images are of the kitchen, living room, and upstairs. + Enlarge
To Be 15 Again, Riding a Bike Through Old East York 04 2020 Wood 14 x 24 x 12 in
Three- dimensional wood replica of a tudor style house. Inside images are of the kitchen, living room, and upstairs. + Enlarge
To Be 15 Again, Riding a Bike Through Old East York 05 2020 Wood 14 x 24 x 12 in
Humanistic Studies Thesis Paper 2020 Written text
Statement

A farmhouse sits vacant in a field. Every window has been shattered, allowing the frigid winter air to swirl about the decrepit rooms. At one point, this house held within it a story that has since been forgotten. What was once a home is now long abandoned. It’s been left to decay alone in a cornfield. All that remains now is the whispers tucked away under rotted floor boards and between mold encrusted walls. Viewed as an eyesore, the house was demolished, taking with it a family’s distant memory.

I want to preserve something that was once beautiful and pay tribute to these places that will soon be gone. I find the things we choose to leave behind, fascinating. The plastic fragments of Christmas ornaments, or a moss- covered pair of shoes scattered in the woods, are the deserted remnants of a lifetime of memories.

There is a strange beauty within these places. It’s almost as if it’s luring you closer with a promise of something unknown. It longs to reveal its secrets, to keep the memories alive. When we inhabit a place, do our lives become intertwined with the structure? Do the walls, floors, and ceilings absorb our memories? It is the witness to our existence, weaving our stories into itself. As we inevitably move on, the place never forgets. As it slowly rots away, it holds onto our pasts even tighter.

My  body of work largely focuses on retaining the memories, stories and places that have been forgotten in my home state, Pennsylvania. I work primarily with copper etchings and more traditional processes and tend to combine historical research with information passed down from my father and his memories of these places. 

The copper etching Brian’s Childhood is a collection of childhood events that he has shared with me over the years. My work has evolved since then, and has exhibited more of my own personal connections, such as the copper etching Paradise Under I-83. I am also intrigued by the documented history behind these places. In my thesis research paper, Dancing on the Ashes: Centralia, PA, I use almost entirely historical facts to recount what happened over the past 70 years in the town.

The empty skeletons left standing after we’re gone are the only evidence of our existence. Whether it may be the shell of a home, a dilapidated factory, or old childrens’ toys left to rot in the woods- it is the ending to a story of which we will never know the beginning.