Each work is a slow, meticulous buildup of ink on acrylic on canvas or paper, each layer showing dismantled objects with their constituent parts traced. The total number of tracings of the reengineered object is the work’s title. The most common “dismantled” object is the 1979 Unabridged Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary (I also trace many nails!). I “break down” the dictionary into its individual components, which are then supplanted by a formula to create a new work. For a dictionaryderived work, the title is the first word defined, giving the body of work a sequence. The formula can determine the color, shape, labeling, number of layers, and positioning of the traced object. I seek to discover the final visual outcome of the formula I establish prior to commencing the work.