I have no formal training in art. My grandfather taught me to paint, and my father taught me to build things. I am a scavenger and an obsessive collector. I search streets and alleys, junk stores and abandoned buildings looking for clues to explain the mystery of our world. I find stories in discarded things: stories about myself and stories about all of us; our cities and our shared history. I first began making assemblage, shadow boxes and collage images as a way to justify my relentless collecting. They soon became much more. They are my way to dig deep into the vast museum of this world and share my finds with anyone who cares to look.