I photographed the lead mining town of Picher, Oklahoma on 4 occasions over 5 years.  My intention was to visit and observe a small town with industrial waste issues.  What I found was a place that existed just 3 hours from my home in Kansas City that was uninhabitable due to it's toxicity from industrial waste.  It was labeled by the EPA as one of the most toxic places in America. It was the perfect subject.

Picher was and is still experiencing gradual demolition by the federal government.  Each time I visited a little bit more of it was gone. I photographed the toxic mounds of chat in a picturesque manner to reflect the beautiful landscapes that people loved and used for recreation. 

The impressionistic scenes displayed in ECHO were shot using medium format-film, “Holga” cameras.  The Holga forced me to concentrate on innovation and creative vision taking away emphasis on technology in my photographic practice. I used digital cameras as well for pieces that appear in the book.
The images were printed on large floor-to-ceiling silk panels using a large format ink jet printer.  The panels were then carefully hemmed and hand-stitched in a free form fashion, while hanging from wires in my studio. 

The 14x14 box pieces are smaller versions of the big panels also printed on silk and hand stitched.  Each smaller silk piece is mounted within the  box frame with gold leaf selectively applied to the background of the box giving each them a three dimensional appearance. 

**Limited addition fabric pieces and books are available for purchase in the "purchase" section.