My artwork honors stories. I believe we are all products of our past; each of our individual stories have in some way become part of our individual fabric. Through my paintings I utilize trade beads to symbolize human circumvention of the globe. Of the countless forms of trade goods exchanged throughout history, beads are artifacts that remain as a lasting testament to global movement over centuries of time. Created in various parts of the world from minuscule grains of sand, ancient beads survive the ravages of time and continue to be bought and traded today. Global trade has evolved to the point that contemporary society is now complexly intertwined. Human beings continuously circumnavigate the earth while making countless connections, exchanging physical objects, and exchanging ideas. It is my personal hope that cultural interdependence is the very thing that could potentially protect mankind from itself.