Free-to-Play

The loss of the right to play in childhood can be a hidden casualty in a young life, filled with too many adult worries. The freedom to play has a real, scientific impact on brain development. It’s impact echoes across a lifetime cultivating a visual inner-landscape that translates into the ability to get lost in a book, to think critically, to dream, to succeed. I revel in my own children’s privilege to play at this critical time in their development. I wish for the same for the millions of children here in the United States and across the globe who because of war, poverty, famine and greed, have lost their right to be children, to grow and develop in what is meant to be an innocent time.

With this in mind, I have launched the Free-to-Play Project. I create collage imagery of children in various states of physical play—running and leaping and laughing—and raise funds for organizations that support children. With every piece of art that I sell from this collection, a portion of the proceeds are donated on behalf of children in need.

If you have a photograph of a child in your life in a state of physical play that you would like to contribute to this work, please consider sending it my way! A side or back view is preferred. There is no obligation to purchase if art that is created from the image.

Each collage requires a detailed drawing and then application of collage materials over many hours. In an effort to minimize my environmental impact, I work almost exclusively with the torn paper of repurposed wall-calendars donated to me from across the country. If you decide to commission a piece, your collage could either stand alone and be installed directly on a wall or could be applied to a canvas.  

Pricing:
Single Child Playing $800
Two Children Playing $1500