Colette Bender makes art for herself more than anything, as a way of attempting to work out conflicting thoughts she has about object dynamics. This is her primary concern as opposed to clear communication with the viewer. As for what she is sorting out, it is the fascination with and irrational sympathy for inanimate objects. She believes everything holds presence and because of this it is impossible not to project ideas or emotions onto things that may not have any of their own. But because objects do not have sentience that makes them innocent in all respects, always at the hands and thoughts of something sentient. And for that reason Bender believes they deserve pity. Taking objects - specifically objects that were made to look like something living - and examining their role in our lives, imaginations, and projections is what she does through her paintings. The objects are the obvious subjects, but people are the invisible subjects. Beginning with bright washes of color to set an atmospheric tone she uses layering, weight, and varying amounts of compositional activity to explore these examinations. Sometimes the result is something endearing. Other times it is a peek into the uncomfortable, more sinister aspects of the human mind.