I make numerous proof prints in order to curate images that make sense as a series, generating piles of "reject" prints in the process.  I noticed that some of the details in my prints were more interesting than the full-frame images. Rather than cropping I began isolating and reusing the best details of my throwaway paper prints. First I ripped up the proofs, then intuitively recombined the pieces into new, more abstract strips and grids, and sewed the pieces together using gold metallic thread. I saw the thread as a metaphor for repair, not just of my photographic fragments, but also what is known in my Jewish spiritual tradition as “Tikkun Olam,” or small acts of kindness that in their own way help to repair the world. Thus began a small shift in my practice, affording a means for breaking away from the heavily representational attributes of my former work. I consider this “hands-on” process as my own artistic ritual of Tikkun Olam - repairing the world and making it whole again.