"I am inspired by the place I call home, and the mystery I sense as I wander the forests and fields of Appalachia. These things connect me with a distant past rooted in these ancient, weathered hills and the timeless cycle of life and death."

"I try to show ownership of identity, regional tendencies along with the vulnerabilities that connect us all as people and I do that by trying to surrender as much of my expectations as possible. My role, as I see it, is to take time to have the conversations with the people I photograph so that them and their experiences are accurately represented."

"I choose to document Appalachia in my music because it’s as much a part of me as breathing. I was inspired to write about the beauty of the land after driving on St. Rt. 52 coming out of Aberdeen, OH toward Ripley. My husband has family in Ohio and when we’d go to visit, I sometimes caught myself looking out the passenger window daydreaming."

"Appalachia is often portrayed in light of its deep traditions, which can be both accurate and misleading. Media focuses on old-timers, running their farm or plying their craft just the way it was done a hundred years ago. But they may ignore the wonderful ingenuity and balance that goes into creating new art in an old tradition – a trick that may actually be harder to execute than simply trying new things."