"Grok" is formed from the remnants of board game cut-outs after popping out the pieces - a humble material, trash to be specific. The inspiration came from a passing thought while at work, but I could see the end result so clearly that my mind refused to let go of the idea. I squirreled the bits of paperboard away to add to my growing stash of collected items. Much of my work focuses on the reuse of materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Traditional materials are often paired with upcycled objects in order to elevate and unify disparate pieces. In the case of "Grok," I applied acrylic paints and mediums to the panels and wood block spacers using a gel printing plate. The final result is a playful juxtaposition of structured, futuristic, circuit board-esque shapes with the soft, whimsical light patterns that are emitted all around. Named for its genesis, "Grok" means to understand something intuitively.