I am an artist. A person can want to be many different things when he or she grows up, but I don't believe that being an artist is a choice. We are born this way. It is true that some of us artists get discouraged, or don't get encouraged, and quit the practice early, which, in my mind, is a national tragedy. But what do you expect from a culture that doesn't ask us what we are, but rather what we want to be? It's no wonder the children are confused.

As an artist, I make art. Does it mean anything? Of course it does. Is there a process? It is fluid. Is there an explanation? I say figure it out for yourself. If I told you it would be less intriguing, less interesting. Besides, whom else among you is expected to explain his or herself all the time?

Simply put, as an artist, I do what I want to do. I do what comes naturally. I don't know what it means or where it's going, but I do what I feel like doing. Over the years I have noticed that simply by doing something a person inevitably leaves a trail. Leaving a trail not only satisfies my own selfish need to be creative, but is a also a gift to the people of this and future generations who enjoy art and art history. I believe mark-making is important. We need to document and leave some evidence of who and what we are for future generations if we want to leave them something more than the piles of garbage mass media feeds us.

The visual arts, like language and music, are a means of communicating ideas, thoughts and emotions. I find it is best to use as many forms of communication as possible.

My collages are visual dramas expressing ideas randomly pulled from the subconscious corners of my mind. They are arrangements of representations of the information both willfully and unknowingly absorbed by my mind. They are a reflection of decisions made and lessons learned. They are a combination of choices. They are evidence of active dreaming. They are my life.

Generally, I work on several collages at once to create a unified series. Source material is selected based on aesthetics, concepts, symbolic potential, and what is handy. Sometimes I seek a specific image and sometimes the right image presents itself. I am in no hurry. There are times when it takes months for a collage to come together. Images cut or torn from books and magazines must be rearranged repeatedly until all elements of the composition rest in harmony. Once the final layout is at peace, I fix the pieces in place using ph neutral adhesives, linen tape, thread, tacks, nuts & bolts, etc. Finally, I mat and frame each collage myself.

The creation of a well-balanced and interesting composition is my primary concern. While I create collages as a means of communicating, it is difficult even for me to understand exactly what it is they are communicating. Initially, I have no intention to say anything. My collages are actually nothing more than evidence of creative activity. However, in much the same way as a viewer might, I look for meaning in each collage when it is finished. The introspective analysis is always pleasurable and surprising. It is therapy, and it comes naturally, from within me. Making collages is something that happens when you are me.

Books are another story. I learned about letterpress printing and bookmaking in college and it stuck like Crazy Glue. After making my first book (for which I received a C), I was hooked. While never having been much of a reader, I became fascinated by the idea of books as little hand-held worm holes people use to escape from this world into another, where the imagination creates a virtual world through an arrangement of words by an author. I was also excited to have the power to create them. That's the cerebral end of it.

Then there's the physical end of it. One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is the alphabet. Always has been. I started drawing letters a long time ago, like everyone else, only I drew them with a lot more thought. Not as much thought as a professional type designer, perhaps, but enough to make it obvious to me that I was more interested in it than other people were, and for that reason maybe I was put here to be a graphic artist. And then I pursued it. Along with letterpress printing, I was introduced to typography in college. As Fortuna would have it, I purchased my own press and a half-ton of type in 1995. Bottom line is: I love setting type by hand, I love printing on my flatbed cylinder press, and I love binding books. Creating worm holes is another thing that happens when you are Mr Koppa.