about
artist statement
My work focuses on preservation of memory and depicts my journey of archiving cherished elements of my past to carry with me into the future. I express themes of memory, nostalgia, childhood, and healing in my work. My pieces become extensions of myself as I use my hands during the entire process of creation, my energy infusing into my work. Through a mix of metalsmithing, textiles, ceramics, and photography, I focus on creating a newfound appreciation of the treasured elements of my life that have subconsciously shaped who I have become. I aim to provide the viewer with the key to unlocking and feeding inner desires, finding beauty in the mundane, and cherishing the elements of life that bring happiness.
Starting with a memory or deep emotion, I use color, texture, material, and function to bring the experience to life. Before I begin a project, I consider the qualities of the mediums I work with to find the best way to execute my ideas. In my metal work, I use fabrication techniques as well as lost wax casting to preserve important objects through wax carving and molds. I incorporate color in my work to bring my memories to life through the use of enamel and layering colored pencil over gesso, treating the surface as a canvas. In my textile work, the act of spinning, dyeing, weaving, and crocheting yarn is a long but important process that infuses my energy and being into my pieces. The colors I choose when dyeing and screen printing fabric always connect to my life in a personal way.
My current work preserves elements of my childhood through metal and textiles techniques. My jewelry pieces immortalize elements I associate with my childhood, including the toys I used to play with and the place where I grew up. The process of creating molds from my plastic childhood doll accessories allows me to cast them into metal replicas to be worn as charms. Home Away From Home preserves the memory of my childhood home in the form of a locket that holds pieces of the wall paint and wood shingles of the house from the time that I lived there. My work will continue as a series of memory lockets, acting as vessels to preserve more cherished memories that I can take with me for the rest of my life’s journey, as I know these special moments in time will slowly begin to fade away as time inevitably moves on.
