There is nothing quite like a good roller coaster. The quick, concentrated series of highs and lows, loops and inversions, and above all, speed, create a thrill that floods our brains with adrenaline and endorphins and leave us eager to ride again right away.

Some people say that life is like a roller coaster, and in some ways it is. But, in my opinion, the pure thrill of a coaster is muddled in life- joys are diluted by stress or tragedy, lows are tempered by support networks and small bites and little victories. And you only ever get one turn at the ride (or, at least, as the person you are now, if you believe in reincarnation).

I wasn’t always a coaster fan… in fact, I remember vividly being afraid to ride one at Busch Gardens Williamsburg as a kid. By high school, I had long since conquered that fear and loved that thrill, that rush. In the winter of 2009, I convinced my boyfriend at the time to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain with me. During the month of December each year, the park gives free entry to anyone who comes with a new toy for their toy drive. The lines are half as long as summer, which means double the time to ride! We definitely had to bundle up, though.

After that trip, in early 2010, I was inspired to create a series that I called, “Roller Coasters”.  At the time, my main source of paintable surfaces came from finding furniture on the side of the road and deconstructing it for the various rectangles and squares it yielded. This was deep in the middle of the Recession, and people were leaving LA by the busload. Work was scarce, but furniture from hastily-emptied apartments was plentiful. So all of the Roller Coasters were painted on shelves or planks.

I used the park map as a reference for each ride, translating the cartoonish kinda 3D/ kinda 2D lines from the map to the flat 2 dimensional plane of the planks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recently had digital captures taken of them and so in addition to the originals being for sale, I offer prints and fun things like phone cases and t-shirts. Make sure to check out the For You page for see for yourself!