I believe that drawing is the foundation, basis, and jumping–off point for all of the visual arts. Throughout my career as a practicing artist, I have used drawing to flesh out and develop two– and three–dimensional ideas. I also use drawing as a way to explore ideas of form, fashion, and design. For me, the pleasure of drawing is derived from its tactility and simplicity as well as the immediacy of the process. Manipulating marks and materials directly helps to maintain the expressive quality I want in my work. With these drawings I am sewing fabric and veneer into the surface of the pictures for the first time. The colors and patterns of the fabric chosen here are used similarly to the way I employ paint. The rings, one drawn on the initial layer in graphite, and the other two drawn with charcoal and sewn on, ask the viewer to think about what constitutes “valuable.” There are six drawings in this series.