A dear family friend and traveling companion introduced me to the canyon walls of Tséyi', within the Diné homeland, in the northeast corner of Arizona. I felt an instant awareness that the majestic sandstone partitions and peaceful meadows below held significant value to all inhabitants of the area. The Diné's spiritual belief emphasizes the importance of preserving and restoring balance and harmony with nature applying thought, stability and strength. I immediately felt a union between that which I was beholding and the spirituality of the Diné. These canyon walls are the inspiration for this series.

The spontaneity of monotype felt like the ideal medium to express my vision. Strokes of oil-based etching ink are applied to a plate, creating horizontal ribbons of color and dramatic vertical streaks known as "desert varnish." The image is transferred to paper by pressing the two through a printing press resulting in one unique print. Layers of color were created by repeating the process on the same paper with seven separate runs of color.