Artist Statement

In the summer of 2023 I moved into a new work and living space.  I was stuck.  Completely uninspired and creatively blocked.  Determined to make another fresh start with my life, I woke up one morning and decided that the body of work that I have been creating since 2017 was coming to an end.  But I didn’t know where I was going.  

Developing a new series is not something that happens easily.  It requires digging in and shutting myself off from everything.  It is deeply rooted in process and materials.  It is birthed exclusively from my creativity and reflects my personal history.  

I have kept journals inconsistently since college.  I dive into writing when it feels like I need to, but especially in times of uneasiness.  For the past year I have had a consistent daily writing practice.  Every morning I grab a pencil and my notebook and I write until it feels like I’m done.  Some days it’s one paragraph, some days it’s seven or more pages.  There isn’t always sense or logic but the words always pour out.  This process gets me ready for my day.  It clears the cobwebs and drains the bad energy.  These days I feel like the words never end.  They are a plentiful gift and so they have become my primary subject in these new works.

Once started, this series emerged quickly and is still considered in a state of development. The shifts in ideas are already apparent but still center around my initial thought process of using journal entries in my work in order to destroy them.  The text is manipulated and layered throughout the page.  It is pure and unedited.  The words become their own unidentifiable identity and morph into beautiful abstractions.  The daily transfer of thoughts and emotions onto paper is difficult and draining, but necessary. Depressive thoughts are invoked and controlled. I welcome the transfer of these emotions into new works in order to heal and in order to create.  Each piece contains one legible sentence in it somewhere, giving the viewer a glimpse into that day's journal entry and subject matter.  Using my emotions as my strength, these artworks will go out into the world, my feelings and thoughts hidden in plain sight.