2003-2016, gold, papers, photos, stamps, thread, stamps, string, fabric, hobby rocks, gouache, ink, graphite, plastic, 41 x 79 inches.

Rome is a sprawling multi-layered, nook-and-cranny, treasure-trove of life, gone and living.  During the autumn of 2003, I was a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome.   I wanted to inhale and absorb Rome. I visited as many churches as possible, walked the streets incessantly, tried all the good restaurants and some not, admired walls, fountains, stairs, roads, buildings, ruins.  I collected postcards, pictures, stamps and papers from my wandering ….  I used a real plan of Rome today, cut it out over and over, and gilded it with gold.  I put all the Roman ephemera sort of where they belonged on my Roman map.  I couldn’t possibly make Rome as it is. Only millions and millions of people together, in a span of thousands and thousands of years could create a city like that.  No matter, this is my Rome, made in thirteen years, as best as I can represent it. It is my favorite city.