Community Collection

Public art becomes most meaningful when the community helps create it.

Stretching 372 feet through the heart of downtown San Carlos, the San Carlos Centennial Mural commemorates the city's first hundred years through a visual timeline of its people, history, and aspirations. Co-led with Deborah Shea and Shari Bryant, the mural was developed in collaboration with city leaders, historians, businesses, and residents, transforming Laurel Street into a place where history can be experienced rather than simply remembered.

For me, the process of creating public art can be just as meaningful as the finished work itself. Working alongside fellow artists, city historians, students, and community volunteers, I helped translate San Carlos' story into visual form while leading Sequoia High School Students to design and paint the mural's Future section—a collaborative invitation to imagine what the city's next century might become. The finished mural celebrates not only the city's past, but the shared hope and imagination that continue to shape its future.

Project Snapshot

• 372-foot permanent public mural
• Downtown San Carlos, California
• Commissioned for the City's Centennial Celebration (2025)
• Co-led with Deborah Shea and Shari Bryant
• Developed with city historians, businesses, artists, and community volunteers
• Future section designed with Sequoia High School students

Community Collection

Beauty has a way of inviting us to care.

Whale Watching: A Sea of Plastics is a large-scale community mosaic depicting an endangered humpback whale swimming through the waters off Point Reyes, California. Created with the help of community members who donated materials and participated in its construction, the work transforms thousands of reclaimed objects—including bottle caps, plastic utensils, straws, dental floss containers, and other everyday waste—into a celebration of one of the ocean's most magnificent creatures.

Every piece of plastic in this mosaic once served a fleeting purpose before being discarded. Yet much of it remains in our oceans for generations, threatening the very wildlife it now depicts. By inviting others to contribute their own discarded materials, the artwork itself becomes a shared act of stewardship, transforming waste into something capable of inspiring wonder. Along the distant horizon, Jonah emerges after being released from the great fish—a quiet reminder that even after our greatest failures, restoration remains possible.

Project Snapshot

• Community-built public artwork
• Community members donated materials and helped construct the mosaic
• Constructed from thousands of reclaimed plastic objects

Community Collection

Sometimes the most meaningful work is what happens around the artwork.

Cuppa Joe is a large-scale public sculpture constructed from more than 4,000 reclaimed Keurig® coffee pods collected by members of the community. Installed at Hoover Park in Palo Alto, the sculpture transforms one of our most familiar disposable objects into a symbol of collective creativity and environmental stewardship.

I began building Cuppa Joe in my front yard during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. As neighbors donated their used coffee pods, something unexpected happened. People began stopping to watch the sculpture grow, introducing themselves to one another, sharing conversations, and returning week after week to see its progress. In a season marked by separation, the sculpture became a gathering place, reminding me that art has the power not only to transform discarded materials, but also to reconnect communities.

Project Snapshot

• Constructed from more than 4,000 reclaimed Keurig® coffee pods
• Temporary public installation, Hoover Park, Palo Alto, California
• Recipient of the Palo Alto ArtLift Microgrant
• Featured in Palo Alto Weekly and the Barron Park Association Newsletter
• Created through community donations and participation

Community Collection

Hope grows when people choose to create together.

Penguins in Peril is a community-built mosaic created for the Atherton Earth Day Festival. Children and adults worked side by side, placing thousands of reclaimed plastic bottle caps to create a portrait of Emperor Penguins—one of the world's most recognizable symbols of a changing climate. Hidden among the bottle caps are words and phrases waiting to be discovered, quietly rewarding those who slow down and look more closely.

While Emperor Penguins are the focus of this work, they represent a much larger story. Nearly two-thirds of all penguin species face increasing threats from climate change, plastic pollution, overfishing, oil spills, and habitat disruption. Rather than creating the piece alone, I invited the community to become part of its creation. Every bottle cap placed by a volunteer became a small act of stewardship—a reminder that the environmental challenges we face will also require a collective response.

Project Snapshot

• Created as a community outreach project for the Atherton Earth Day Festival
• Hundreds of community members participated in the creation of the mosaic
• Recipient of the Activism Award, Wild Heart Gallery, Colorful Creatures Juried Exhibition (2025)

Endangered Habitats Collection

If the Earth could speak, what would it ask of us?

A Voice for the Earth imagines the Earth taking human form to speak on behalf of the natural world. A mosaic globe replaces her head while an hourglass rests where her heart should be—a reminder that time is finite. Constructed from reclaimed materials, the sculpture transforms discarded plastics and consumer packaging into a symbolic voice for the living systems upon which we all depend.

The Earth cannot speak for itself. Its glaciers cannot testify. Its coral reefs cannot plead for protection. Its forests and oceans cannot ask us to change. Hidden within the figure are discarded wrappers and packaging, revealing that the environmental challenges we face are not abstract—they are woven into the ordinary choices we make every day. The materials themselves become part of the message, asking us to consider not only what we consume, but the world we leave behind.

Project Snapshot

• Mixed-media sculpture constructed from reclaimed plastics and consumer packaging
• Mosaic globe created from reclaimed plastic materials
• Interior lined with discarded food wrappers collected from everyday consumer products
• Explores environmental stewardship through the symbolism of a voice for the Earth

Endangered Habitats Collection

Sometimes the greatest potential is found in what we overlook.

Commissioned for the Skyway Center in San Carlos, California, Aerocycle is a suspended mixed-media installation constructed entirely from reclaimed materials. Three aircraft, inspired by the pioneering planes of Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman, and Amy Johnson, soar above a landscape assembled from worn denim, upholstery fabric, packing materials, discarded plastics, aluminum cans, wire, and countless everyday objects once destined for the landfill. Installed above the building's recycling, compost, and waste stations, the work transforms an ordinary act of disposal into an opportunity to imagine what becomes possible when materials are given a second life.

The aircraft—symbols of exploration, courage, and human ingenuity—are themselves constructed from waste. By celebrating three pioneering female aviators through reclaimed materials, the work suggests that innovation often begins by seeing familiar things in entirely new ways. What we overlook today may become the very thing that carries us forward tomorrow.

Project Snapshot

• Commissioned by the Skyway Center, San Carlos, California
• Installed above the building's recycling, compost, and waste collection stations
• Constructed entirely from reclaimed and repurposed materials
• Aircraft inspired by Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman, and Amy Johnson

Dusk & Dawn: The Grey Wolf's Elegy (2025)

Endangered Animals Collection

Restoration begins when we make room for what once belonged.

Created from thousands of hand-cut pieces of stained glass, Dusk & Dawn: The Grey Wolf's Elegy is a two-sided public mosaic sculpture honoring the return of the grey wolf to California. One side depicts the wolf howling beneath a setting sun; the reverse reveals the same wolf greeting the dawn. Installed in Sunnyvale's Ponderosa Park, the sculpture invites viewers to walk around it, discovering two moments within the same journey.

The grey wolf was hunted to extinction in California by 1924. Nearly a century later, wolves began returning on their own, reminding us that restoration is sometimes possible when nature is given the chance to heal. As a keystone species, wolves play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Their return reminds us that when one species disappears, entire ecosystems are altered—and when one returns, entire landscapes begin to heal.

Project Snapshot

• Hand-cut stained glass mosaic on a fiberglass armature with colored grout
• Dimensions: 48" × 4" × 48"
• Permanent public installation, Ponderosa Park, Sunnyvale, California

Endangered Animals Collection

What we choose to value shapes the world we share.

Created entirely from reclaimed plastics, Ring-Tailed Lemur celebrates one of Madagascar's most recognizable—and increasingly threatened—species while exploring the relationship between human consumption and biodiversity. Constructed from discarded everyday materials, including dental floss containers, coffee stirrers, yogurt containers, and peanut lids, the sculpture transforms single-use plastics into the vibrant texture and movement of the lemur's distinctive coat and tail.

The ring-tailed lemur's greatest threat is the loss of its native habitat. While deforestation is driven by many factors, modern patterns of consumption continue to place increasing pressure on forests and the ecosystems they support. By transforming discarded plastics into one of nature's most charismatic animals, the work invites us to consider the contrast between what we throw away and what we stand to lose. The materials themselves become part of the story, reminding us that our everyday choices ripple far beyond our own lives.

Project Snapshot

• Constructed entirely from reclaimed plastics and everyday consumer waste
• Materials include dental floss containers, coffee stirrers, yogurt containers, and peanut lids
• Celebrates one of Madagascar's most iconic—and increasingly threatened—species

Endangered Animals Collection

Hope grows where stewardship takes root.

Baby Giant Panda is a sculptural mosaic celebrating one of conservation's most recognizable success stories. Constructed entirely from reclaimed materials, the sculpture transforms discarded objects into a portrait of a species whose future has been reshaped through decades of habitat protection, international cooperation, and conservation. A recycled teddy bear forms the sculpture's inner structure before being rebuilt with discarded plastic bags, cups, cement, and hand-cut mosaic tiles, while bamboo and grasses root the panda within its native habitat.

Much of my work explores species facing uncertain futures. The Giant Panda tells a different story—one of recovery. Once on the brink of extinction, the species has rebounded from Endangered to Vulnerable, reminding us that when people choose stewardship over exploitation, restoration is possible.

Project Snapshot

• Constructed from reclaimed materials, including a recycled teddy bear, plastic bags, cups, cement, and hand-cut mosaic tiles
• Celebrates the Giant Panda's recovery from Endangered to Vulnerable
• Explores the role of conservation, habitat protection, and international cooperation in species recovery

Endangered Animals Collection

The greatest threats are often the ones we never notice.

Created for the Sanchez Art Center's 50/50 Show, Ribbiting Crisis: A Global Response to the Frog Pandemic is a fifty-piece multimedia installation exploring the global amphibian pandemic. Together, the frogs form an international gathering—a fictional conference where species from around the world confront a crisis threatening their survival. The series begins with a healthy frog swimming through waters contaminated by chytrid fungus and concludes with the conference's keynote speaker reduced to a frog skeleton—a quiet reminder of what can happen when warning signs go unanswered.

Amphibians are disappearing at an alarming rate due to chytrid fungus, a deadly pathogen spread around the world through the international pet trade. Combined with habitat destruction, climate change, and human development, the disease has driven hundreds of frog species toward extinction. By telling this ecological crisis as a story, the installation invites curiosity before revealing an uncomfortable truth: many environmental tragedies are not accidents, but the unintended consequences of countless human choices.

Project Snapshot

• Created for the Sanchez Art Center's 50/50 Show (50 artworks in 50 days)
• Fifty multimedia frog sculptures representing species from around the world
• Explores the global amphibian pandemic caused by chytrid fungus and human activity
• Original project supported SAVE THE FROGS!

Explore the Details

Click the image to discover close-ups of the individual frogs.

Endangered People Collection

Healing begins long before it becomes visible.

Created for the Hermana 2025 exhibition, From Depths to Light raises awareness of human trafficking while supporting Reintegra, an organization dedicated to the restoration and rehabilitation of survivors. Constructed from hand-cut stained glass, the work portrays a journey from bondage to freedom, from sorrow to renewal. A woman rises through radiant waters, her broken chains falling away as she cradles a lotus flower—a symbol of rebirth, resilience, and hope.

Human trafficking often leaves invisible wounds that remain long after physical freedom has been regained. This piece honors the inherent dignity and courage of survivors, as well as the organizations that walk beside them on the long journey toward healing. A tree rooted beneath the water stretches toward the dawn, connecting the depths below with the light above. Fish weave through its roots, suggesting renewal and the quiet persistence of life, while doves resting among its branches evoke peace and the promise of new beginnings.

Project Snapshot

• Created for the Hermana 2025 exhibition in support of Reintegra
• Hand-cut stained glass mosaic
• Raises awareness of human trafficking and the long journey of restoration 

Endangered People Collection

The systems we build reveal the values we choose to uphold.

Constructed from hundreds of reclaimed credit cards, Surface of Prosperity depicts a dazzling urban skyline beneath a fractured sky of consumerism. Along its streets, grayscale figures experiencing homelessness inhabit a world that seems to overlook them. Their monochromatic forms appear almost like visual glitches against a city built from the very symbols of wealth and consumption.

Inspired by the biblical vision of shalom—a flourishing community where people care for one another—the work questions the values that shape modern society. By constructing the city from discarded credit cards, the materials themselves become part of the story, revealing how the systems that create prosperity can also leave people behind. It asks us to consider not only what we build, but who benefits, who belongs, and who remains unseen.

Project Snapshot

• Constructed from hundreds of reclaimed credit cards and mixed media
• Explores homelessness, consumer culture, and the biblical vision of shalom
• Examines the relationship between prosperity, belonging, and human dignity

Selected Juried Exhibitions

2026
Art & Mass Culture — THE Gallery, Tiburon, CA

2025
Sausalito Center for the Arts — Juried Exhibition, Sausalito, CA

2023
Social Commentary Exhibition — ShockBoxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA

Endangered People Collection

We are shaped long before we realize we are being shaped.

Conditioned Before Consent explores the subtle ways culture forms identity before true understanding or consent are possible. Set within an ordinary domestic scene, the painting examines how ideas about beauty, desirability, power, and worth are absorbed throughout childhood, often before we recognize them as influences.

The young woman stands between innocence and performance, while the seated man represents not a single individual, but a normalized gaze shaped by the same cultural forces that have also shaped her. Rather than assigning blame, the painting asks where responsibility begins when identity and expectation are formed long before either can be consciously chosen.

Project Snapshot

• Oil painting
• Explores the influence of culture on identity, relationships, and human dignity
• Symbolic details reveal themselves through sustained observation
• The missing wedding-ring finger suggests an absence where accountability should exist

Innocence Lost (1996)

Endangered People Collection

The stories that shape us often begin before we know we are listening.

Innocence Lost explores how popular media shapes the imagination of childhood. At its center, a five-year-old boy gazes outward with joy and wonder while a dreamlike world of 1990s television characters unfolds around him. Superheroes, fighters, and animated icons emerge through doorways and hidden spaces, suggesting how media quietly enters a child's inner world. On the table before him, a simple crayon drawing hints at the stories already taking root.

Created in 1996, the painting grew from questions I was asking as a young artist about the influence of television and consumer culture on childhood. Decades before social media and smartphones transformed childhood, children were already immersed in carefully engineered worlds designed to capture attention, shape desire, and build lifelong consumers. The technology has changed. The questions have not. A small portion of the painting remains intentionally unfinished, suggesting that childhood is never complete. Identity is still being formed, imagination is still unfolding, and the stories that surround us continue to leave their mark.

Project Snapshot

• Oil painting (1996)
• Explores the influence of media and consumer culture on childhood imagination
• Uses symbolism and unfinished passages to explore identity in formation

Endangered People Collection

We often understand the value of connection only after it is lost.

Isolation reflects on the profound loneliness experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the unintended consequences of a world forced apart. Constructed from discarded plastic packaging collected from home deliveries, the work combines portraiture with reclaimed materials that became symbols of daily life during extended stay-at-home orders. Embedded within the surface are worn disposable face masks—objects once associated with protection, but also with separation, uncertainty, and a growing stream of non-recyclable waste.

The pandemic revealed how deeply human beings depend on connection. While physical isolation protected our bodies, it also exposed our emotional vulnerability. At the same time, our reliance on home deliveries generated an unprecedented amount of single-use packaging, leaving behind a physical record of a season defined by distance. The portrait preserves both realities: the emotional cost of isolation and the material evidence it left behind.

Project Snapshot

• Constructed from reclaimed plastic packaging collected during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Incorporates worn disposable face masks that cannot be recycled
• Explores the intersection of environmental impact, isolation, and human connection

Endangered People Collection

The stories that delight us also help shape us.

Happiest Face on Earth captures a genuine moment of childhood joy while exploring the relationship between innocence and mass culture. Centered around an iconic symbol recognized across generations, the drawing asks how wonder, memory, and identity are shaped by the cultural experiences we share.

Rather than dismissing those experiences, the work explores the tension between authentic emotion and the subtle influence of branding. It asks whether our most treasured memories are entirely our own, or partly formed by the stories, symbols, and experiences that surround us. Stories shape culture. The question is not whether they influence us, but what they invite us to become. What might become possible if we were just as intentional about cultivating wonder, compassion, courage, and the conditions in which people, communities, and the natural world can flourish?

Project Snapshot

• Charcoal drawing
• Explores childhood wonder, consumer culture, and the influence of shared cultural experiences
• Invites reflection on memory, identity, and the stories that shape us