This piece was a reaction to a housing development project I saw while traveling across the country. There was a clean separation or break between an area of dense forest and the barren stripped area of earth sectioned off for housing developments. The forest that was removed seemed surgical in appearance, and blind to the cohesive ecosystem that had existed there. I began thinking about spaces, mapping, boundaries, and extensions. The painting Fragment, represents to me an area of land that has been cut away and removed without thought or consideration of the lasting impact that this action might have on the existing ecosystem. The revealed layers of earth, soil, and even the layers of the trees bark and root structure signify the element of time that is necessary to sustain a complex ecosystem. It is my hope that in time future land development and planning will integrate in their design a conservational concern and awareness of existing ecosystems and natural habitats.