Countless hours of enjoyment came from listening to my vintage vinyl record collection. It was destined to become an art project. Sorting through the albums filled me with nostalgia. I rescued the LPs from a corner of my bedroom where they had been stashed. I began to prepare each record with modeling paste forming patterns and texture on each side, followed by sanding, painting and embellishing. Shattered glass, dehydrated vegetables, jewelry, and found objects are often embedded into the surface. Some disks are reminiscent of ancient artifacts while others suggest connections to the song tracks buried beneath.

Avocado skin has great texture. I discovered after excavating the fruit and drying the skin, they become even more appealing (no pun intended). They shrivel and take on odd shapes while the interior develops soft muted colors. The humble parsnip was an unexpected surprise. They have an earthy flavor when cooked, but I prefer the dehydrated version for art projects. They too, shrivel and morph into wondrous shapes and colors. In this instance, both of these bounties of nature take center stage atop a 45 rpm record. Nature and her natural forms are intriguing to me for my 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional projec