Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Meet the Maker: My work bridges modern cartography and manufacturing with traditional woodworking to explore the relationship between place, memory, and material through handcrafted wood topographic maps. Each piece begins in digital mapping software. I combine and parse geographic data before meticulously translating it into layered vector files for laser cutting. Every precisely cut layer is hand stacked and finished, creating a tangible landscape, part cartography and part sculpture, inviting viewers to connect with the places that shape their lives. I craft every map from FSC-certified, sustainably sourced domestic hardwoods. I use offcuts to create smaller giftable items, ensuring that no material goes to waste. Some pieces incorporate nontraditional materials, such as faux foliage the textures of a bird’s-eye view of Appalachian forest canopies. I blend multiple tones and textures to capture the richness and variation of these environments. This fusion of digital precision and traditional craftsmanship creates a balance between modern fabrication and the warmth of handwork. My collections are unified by a focus on place and landscape. The neighborhoods and parks of Pittsburgh are at the heart of my exploration as I search for new ways to understand my own surroundings. Moving outward to state and national parks, each piece becomes another opportunity to connect story and geography. By combining sustainable practices, regional storytelling, and contemporary technique, my work reimagines cartography as a form of craft, bridging innovation and tradition while celebrating our connection to community and landscape.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Meet the Maker: My work bridges modern cartography and manufacturing with traditional woodworking to explore the relationship between place, memory, and material through handcrafted wood topographic maps. Each piece begins in digital mapping software. I combine and parse geographic data before meticulously translating it into layered vector files for laser cutting. Every precisely cut layer is hand stacked and finished, creating a tangible landscape, part cartography and part sculpture, inviting viewers to connect with the places that shape their lives. I craft every map from FSC-certified, sustainably sourced domestic hardwoods. I use offcuts to create smaller giftable items, ensuring that no material goes to waste. Some pieces incorporate nontraditional materials, such as faux foliage the textures of a bird’s-eye view of Appalachian forest canopies. I blend multiple tones and textures to capture the richness and variation of these environments. This fusion of digital precision and traditional craftsmanship creates a balance between modern fabrication and the warmth of handwork. My collections are unified by a focus on place and landscape. The neighborhoods and parks of Pittsburgh are at the heart of my exploration as I search for new ways to understand my own surroundings. Moving outward to state and national parks, each piece becomes another opportunity to connect story and geography. By combining sustainable practices, regional storytelling, and contemporary technique, my work reimagines cartography as a form of craft, bridging innovation and tradition while celebrating our connection to community and landscape.
