In Dream of Water, I examine issues of war, ecological destruction, commodification, disturbance, reparation, mutual ascendancy and collapse. In much of the work, I meld the 21st century practice of digital photography with the traditional practice of embroidery. I stitch into paper and work to disturb and destruct the surface with metal tools, and also embroider silk thread over digital images printed on silk fabric. Many of the images are paired with poems. In doing, I am referencing Japanese haiga paintings, illuminated manuscripts, and modernist work involving text and image. I intend to have the image and text come together to form a third work, one that is dependent on the two elements to exist. In 2007, a collection of poems from the series was selected by Harryette Mullen as the winner of the Poetry Society of America’s National Chapbook Fellowship. The chapbook was published in 2008. Work from the series was exhibited at the Illinois State Museum-Chicago Gallery, June 1 to August 7, 2009, curated by Jennifer Jaskowiak. In 2013/14, "Dark Waters" is on view at the Illinois State Museum (Chicago Gallery, then Lockport Gallery and Rend Lake) in "Sketches, Journals and Preparations…Everything in Place," a traveling exhibition about preparatory materials.

"Dark Waters (Nine Tankas), in memory of Michael D." was made in response to a friend's suicide. The poem was first published in the chapbook, Dream of Water, which was published by Poetry Society of America in 2008. The piece began as a poem and a collection of photographs, then became an artist book and finally this 9-piece work. "Dark Waters" has been exhibited at Governors State University (2013) and twice at the Illinois State Museum, the first time in 2009 in a solo exhibition, Dream of Water, and again in 2013 as part of a wonderful show on preparatory materials, "Sketches, Journals, Preparations...Everything in Place."