I’ve been collecting items, including a vintage boombox, records player and drums, to create word art that pays tribute to music and musical artists.

My boombox (I CANT LIVE WITHOUT MY RADIO) is a tribute to hip hop, which recently celebrated 50 years of existence. As a kid, one of my prized possessions was my radio. I wanted to create something that speaks to the era and the artists who helped shape the genre out made right on the streets of New York.

The record player (HELLO NASTY: WHEELS OF STEEL) is also a hip hop-inspired piece. It calls out names of the earliest pioneers in the genre, particular the MCs, DJs and scratchers that created music that is still telling stories and getting us up to dance, move and think.

The drums (KEEP THE BEAT), a set of three, is about the beat in music, those who keep the beat and the artists who have made music in a variety of styles, from Swing and Jazz to Heavy Metal, Rock and Hip Hop.

These are painstaking projects that I love doing to transform items from the past and present into sculptural works of art. I’m interested in seeing them for what they offer, and seeing them in a new way as a valid form of fine art. The idea of upcycling items like these has been an appealing way for me to also consider the idea of trash v. treasure and to make something that is ultimately sustainable.

I want them to feel like a relic, something you might see in a museum that tells the story of an important time and place.