PROPRAC REQUIRED SUBMISSION
Artist Statement
I started creating art as a young teenager, branching out from the commonplace childhood illustrations and chicken scratch sketches in the margins of my school assignments and fell in love with oil paints at first chance at the beginning of my time in high school. Like most artistic kids, I did what was easily accessible: Painting and drawing. As more mediums have become available to me as a college artist, I’ve developed a love for 3-D mediums alongside growing my capabilities with 2-D work. I most often work dually in graphic design, my major, as well as feeding my love for textile, ceramic, and metal mediums. My work is highly characterized by humor, and I use comedy to discuss my trauma both in my casual life, and this is represented in my work. I think the beauty of creating art is the concept of a community of understanding. When i see people relate with my work, it helps me to understand that i’m not so alone in the way that i feel and the trauma that i've gone through. As well as this, art helps me communicate with others who may not share similar experiences, and viewing others' art is beneficial in helping me to relate to their own personal human experience. My projects touch on the concepts of the female experience and the trauma that is commonplace for modern women. I discuss the fragility of life, and my fears of loss and love within my pieces. As well as this, my work as of late has been aimed at utility and duality. I like to discuss in my projects how far i can push aesthetic and storytelling within my utilitarian pieces before they become essentially obsolete. This idea is inspired by Tyler Hurwitz, who works with fragility in his jewelry and metalsmithing work and juxtaposes the ideas of usefulness with beauty. This overflows into my design work, which also pushed the envelope of utility and usefulness juxtaposed with emotional communication with the viewer. Within my design work i’m inspired by Jean Giraud’s cartoons, and his ability to work so intricately within his illustrations. Within my own digital work i use organic shapes and catching colors to create effective designs, those that communicate efficiently with the viewer, and deliver the necessary information to the audience in a way. I hope as an artist i can continue to grow the duality of my work, and expand on their shared themes of function, utility, storytelling, and aesthetic.