As a kid, I used to collage all of my folders and notebooks in August to quell the anxiety of going back to school. Now, I use collage to process my feelings about food, family, capitalism, politics, the environment, domestic life, and whatever else is on my mind from my studio in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Every day, I clip images from local ads, junk mail, newspapers, magazines, and some stellar finds from library book sales and organize them by category in labeled bins. Then, when I have something to say, I sort through my bins to select images, compose, and share my work. I have an imprecise cutting style and a tendency to group lots of similar images together, like faces or ladders or Kings Hawaiian Rolls. My work is sometimes deeply personal and symbolic, but more often, I’m just trying to make myself and my friends laugh. I often share finished pieces on my Instagram page, @hermit.collage.