Travel is valuable inspiration for artwork that is rooted in the environment from which it springs; immersed in a foreign culture, I can reinvent meaning with scavenged resources. Papers thru my Eyes (Papeles por mis Ojos) is a series of collages that I began in 2008 in response to my brief but intense first journey to Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebration. Subsequent visits inspired new work. Collaging papers from Mexico with others found during return trips to Baltimore became a way for me to process an increasing duality in my daily experiences on both sides of the border. As such, the series was also inspired by my work teaching art to Latino students in the Mi Espacio program in East Baltimore and considering the challenges they face as teenagers who live lives split between two cultures. In 2010, I was awarded a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, Highest Honors, for this series.