How long have you been creating?

I have been folding creations since the age of 8, when my aunt brought me a library book on Origami. I have a degree in studio art and psychology from Baldwin-Wallace College (Berea, Ohio), where I learned to print, so I have been doing that for about 10 years.

What is your media of choice?

For printing, I usually use linoleum. I really enjoy working with different types of paper (for both the printing and the Origami), and I like to explore various ways of utilizing papers in my work.

What are you motivations for creating?

I have always enjoyed working with my hands and making things. I am the type of person who likes everything to be handmade. For my wedding, I made over 400 Origami roses for bouquets and centerpieces, handmade all the bows and decorations, designed my own cake, and drove to Toronto to meet with a designer I liked, to customize a wedding gown. It's just the way I am.

I also come from a family of achievers. My brother received a huge scholarship for graduate school and is starting on his second Masters degree at Oxford this fall. My sisters are both leaving in the next week or so.

One is going to St. Petersburg to study Russian and the other is leaving for D.C. and an internship at the F.B.I. My work gives me something to be proud of-a sense of purpose.

What other artists or movements inform your work?

I am mainly influence by Oriental art. I don't think there is really any one artist in particular whose influence I've taken. I really enjoy Oriental patterns and symbols, and I often employ them in my works.

I also tend to be influence by patterns in clothing and artists' work that I see at my shows. I sometimes see a photographer's work and wish I could make it into a print.

What do you find visually stimulating right now?

Recently, I have developed an obsession with trees. I love the gnarly, creepy branches that twist and turn into one another. I am always seeing trees that would make good prints and wishing I had a camera with me.

What's the last book you read?

This is a difficult question because I read a lot. My favorite books are usually mysteries by authors like Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich. I recently read a book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. It was written from the point-of-view of a 15-year old autistic boy who is trying to solve the murder of his neighbor's dog. That was a very interesting book and I think I liked it particularly because of the focus on dogs.

Currently, I am reading Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted. It is very unusual, as are all his works. I am also reading several books about the theories behind the T.V. Show Lost (of which I am a very big fan).

Tell us about some of your artistic goals for 2006.

This year I am hoping to create some smaller-scale prints. It has been very difficult for me to lug around all these big works to shows. I am also running out of room in my Explorer, so I figure once I have enough small works, I will be able to take a portfolio with the larger pieces and avoid having to carry them around.

Also, I would like to do more works that incorporate my Origami with my prints. I think this is a constant goal to make my work more cohesive and original.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?

I really enjoy getting feedback from others, so if they are reading this article, I would like them to take the time to view my website at www.gingerfolds.com and let me know what they think.