I am a painter and fiber artist studying for a bachelor's in studio arts at the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado. My work
deals with several themes including femininity, organic forms, and different relationships, both
external and internal. These explorations extend from painting and drawing to more of a
fibers-based approach, both of which are connected by a bright color palette that invites a viewer in before fully recognizing the bodily forms presented or the emotional undertones.
Much of my inspiration comes from the artists I saw during my childhood, including O’keefe and Dali, as well as many cartoons and animations like Adventure Time or old Disney shorts, resulting in a fusion of fine art and that concerning popular culture. Mediums range from oil, acrylic, and watercolor paint to different fiber practices, not limited to dying fabrics, sewing, crocheting, and needle felting, each one being employed in different aspects to capture the plasticity and change that comes with experimentation and creation.
Artist Bio
Statement
My practice centers around imagination and form invention. I explore the fragility of our
everchanging and failing bodies and the accidental beauty that results.
The monsters I create are nervous and ridiculous, embodying a playful approach to
digesting anxieties about our bodies' frailty. Each one is insecure about their identity, questioning
what they are and how their bodies work which leads them to aimlessly float around in their own
hazy, goopy, soupy environments. Where my own life feels stagnant, I look to my creatures for
their continuous mutability and free-flowing feelings. Human bodies deteriorate as they are
manipulated by time and experience. My monsters traverse a similar path, one that explores the
never-ending process of becoming that defines being an organic form. The swirling
environments in which my monsters find themselves are just as integral to the story as the
characters being created. Each creature is put on display to invite a close examination, forcing
both the figure and the viewer to question their bodies in tandem with their transformative or
grotesque natures. Their goal is to invite a viewer in with a short, awkward smile, facing their
own sort of wacky abstraction.
Oil painting is often placed at the top of the art world hierarchy since is the medium used
to create many Western masterpieces. My work, while employing the same technical skills and
understanding of the material focuses less on the precision and representation generally
associated with the practice and turns it more into a form of play and experimentation. This
exploration is furthered with the introduction of fibers and soft sculpture to my practice, allowing
my monsters to assert a place in the three-dimensional plane while retaining their awkward
charm. Rather than pulling the viewer in with them, sculpture allows these creations to interact
with the real world in a more intimate way. This combination of mediums allows for something
that feels closer to the creation of life rather than just an image of it.