My recent work focuses on ecological reverence and the metaphor between personal grief and environmental grief. Through micro-macrocosm interplay and cyclical processes, I mirror the stages of grief from traumatic catalyst to eventual healing. My research practice includes nature hiking, and with my artistic process, I focus particularly on the moments when internal states and external phenomena align. This is experienced as much in the studio as in the wild. Through this lens, my multimedia collage works reflect experiences of self-awareness, light and shadow work and self-care, along with embracing a radical acceptance of life, even its darkest moments.
In my work, mutually invented and imagined landscapes comprise of East and West coast flora and fauna, speaking to my different homes in the United States. Scenes created confront the presence and absence of loved ones, connecting to specific griefs in the past decade. My collage work, affixed to watercolor paper, includes drawing, painting, and printmaking techniques, as well as recycled and upcycled materials to honor sustainability and conservation. Particular sources were accumulated within the year leading up to the creation of the POLARIS series, a time that held significant grieving of an especially poignant loss in my life.
In my work, mutually invented and imagined landscapes comprise of East and West coast flora and fauna, speaking to my different homes in the United States. Scenes created confront the presence and absence of loved ones, connecting to specific griefs in the past decade. My collage work, affixed to watercolor paper, includes drawing, painting, and printmaking techniques, as well as recycled and upcycled materials to honor sustainability and conservation. Particular sources were accumulated within the year leading up to the creation of the POLARIS series, a time that held significant grieving of an especially poignant loss in my life.
Presently, my practice most accurately fits into the framework of the Re-Enchantment movement. In general, Re-Enchantment in art acknowledges possibilities and successes in working as an eco-friendly and eco-conscious artist. The majority of the original artists created either ephemeral, performance-based, or fully eco-friendly works. In addition to the artists who work ephemerally, there are plenty of traditional media artists who act as sages to their viewers, extending their missions of caring for the planet in a harmonious, intentional way. Similar to the movement, my work demonstrates awe and celebration of the environment and the cosmos. My work speaks to the values of empathy, interconnectedness, unity, ritual, and respect for earth and its inhabitants, as there is a direct relationship between humanity’s collective emotional well-being and the state of our planet. I believe that embodying an eco-friendly lifestyle, with cognizance of my carbon footprint in creating work, holds earnest merits. I recognize that embodying acts of care while being considerate of what I include in my art practice serves as an effective approach.
The work is a celebratory recognition of the preciousness of existence and the somber yet profound significance of loss. I hope to alchemize suffered experiences into something beautiful, meaningful, and lasting. My practice is both an attempt to further understand the delicate balance between light and shadow and also an acknowledgement that both are necessary aspects of nature, working in cohesive harmony.
The work is a celebratory recognition of the preciousness of existence and the somber yet profound significance of loss. I hope to alchemize suffered experiences into something beautiful, meaningful, and lasting. My practice is both an attempt to further understand the delicate balance between light and shadow and also an acknowledgement that both are necessary aspects of nature, working in cohesive harmony.