Though I create works of art in traditional media, the medium I prefer is paper. My love of paper began in high school when my art teacher assigned a Henri Matisse-inspired cut-out project and when I used wallpaper scraps to render a Madonna and child. These undertakings—cutting blocks of paper in organic and geometric forms per the Matisse project, and cutting into paper to convey the contour lines of the Madonna-and-child image—form the foundation of the style of paper art I developed in 2010. My method of conveying form involves cutting blocks of paper and layering them, with the layers of paper in gradations of color that are cut in such a way that follow the contours of the different values on the form. Ever since I learned to draw in high school, I have always been intrigued by the human form. This fascination led to my exploring various aspects of the human experience through my portraits, from ideas relating to self and identity, to topics about diversity. My current artistic pursuit is to visually celebrate—or otherwise comment on issues related to—the diversity and the individual stories of people I meet in this multiculturally-, multinationally-, and multi-ethnically-rich city of Houston.