Similar to many others, I use art to express myself and disconnect from everyday stressors. I make art to distract myself from my depression and anxiety that is often overwhelming. I struggle every day to define and defend my art practice, yet I know that I would be completely lost without it.

I dabble in a wide range of mediums to keep up with my continuous curiosity for all things art related. These include paintings, sculptures, installations, and digital work. The types of materials that have the most crossover are ones I encountered in hardware stores growing up -spackling, caulk, plastic drop cloths, hot glue etc. My father, a self employed contractor, frequently took me along to job sites and supply runs, so while some kids started playing with clay and paint, I learned how to tile a bathroom and mix concrete. Though my work doesn’t manifest in the ways I watched him create, his hands-on making definitely sparked my fascination with these materials.

My practice is heavily process-based and focuses on the immediacy when in the moment of making. By being reactive to my materials rather than hyper-focusing on what I may want the final product to look like, I save myself from my self-criticality and my own perfectionist tendencies.

I put a lot of emphasis on aesthetics in my work, specifically in terms of the color palette which is generally in a translucent, iridescent, or pastel hue. Most of my imagery consists of the multiplicity of organic or biomorphic forms, but within that I avoid exact replication. I highlight the unique and subtle differences that each part takes on, even when using a stamp or stencil.

Beyond the aesthetic choices of materials, form, and color in my work, I occasionally include text or sound into the viewing experience. I prioritize vulnerability and authenticity in my self-referential work. I do this by incorporating my own body, generally in segmented parts of my face or my tattoos, as well as excerpts from my journaling or as I consider them, written ramblings.

I want to challenge the viewer’s expectations of what an artist should be. I feel there is an unfair expectation on contemporary artists to consistently make work that is absolutely original, and that idea is what guides my ongoing question of how I want my art to function. I like to challenge the cliche, the obvious, the need for originality. But most importantly, I want others to recognize the importance of doing things just for oneself.