Nature Re-Collected,
An ongoing investigation

My series, Nature-ReCollected, is an ongoing investigation of a collection of several thousand 
stones, shells and other natural objects which were gathered decades ago by Italia Grande and 
her husband Albert Mainland. They lived in a small apartment in Greenwich Village, but every 
summer they would set out to exotic places throughout North America, obsessively collecting 
bits of nature and living in its essence. Through a serendipitous event about ten years ago, 
I was given the collection, saving it from the fate of being discarded.

For months, I separated and sorted these objects. This became a  meditative process which was 
essential for me, becoming intimate with them and experiencing their nuances. Eventually, I began 
to create labor-intensive structures which incorporated the objects. For example, I made stone-like 
sculptures called Sounding Stones that are simulacra of the actual stones. The Sounding Stones have 
hidden compartments that hold “dream panels” which become a vehicle for the stones’ voices. These 
small panels are collaged paintings which combine photographs from Italia and Albert’s travels as 
well as images from my own life. They tell the story of real and psychic travels and through them, 
the dreams of the stones, Italia and Albert’s dreams and my dreams converge.