The natural environment is my source of inspiration and material. Experience on family farms has brought me close to fields and animals and from that experience compelled me to look at nature’s creations. I collect my material from the land. I see them as gifts from nature. I try to respect the environment while foraging for my materials. Paper wasp nests, a material that I frequently use, are collected only after the wasps have died off for the winter. My aesthetic exploration has evolved from collage on flat surfaces to working on sculptural pieces, musical instruments as pure sculptural form. As a cellist, the violin family of instruments was a form I was drawn to work with. Stringed instruments are visually beautiful to me and my intimate connection with them has inspired me to "play" on them with my gleanings from the earth. - Pallas Athene