My friend Elise had very special slippers she got in Chinatown. When they wore out she couldn’t bear to just throw them away, so she snipped these sparkly chartreuse flowers off the toes and gave them to me, knowing I would put them to use in art. We are both happy they have another life now. I moved here from San Diego in 2010, not knowing anyone. I love that my new Philly friends know to save their ‘trash’ for me. What I love about being a found-object artist is the sense of story and personal history of objects. Being one of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, I am thrilled to have found kindred spirits.