Current Work
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"Transform"
"Transform" is the final installment in the "Release/Renew/Transform" Series. I began work on this 48x48 inch canvas on Nov. 15, 2021 with the words "Release, Renew, Transform" painted directly onto the surface. I added more artifacts from past relationships, memories in the form of concert tickets, business cards that were accumulated from places I've visited, poetry book pages etc. These tangible memories were then covered up. I felt the need to remove these items from where they had been stored to make physical space for new memories to grow and thrive. Through layering and then removing areas of the canvas I am able to continue to hide and reveal parts of my past and grieve the past. This stage I am in is like a cocoon and I feel once this work is complete, I will emerge, forever transformed. Here are some photos of the process:
"Renew"
"Renew" was completed on April 3, 2021 after three months of work on this 48x48 inch canvas.
While layering and removing paint and artifacts into this work, I was deliberating on what it means for us to reconnect; with ourselves, with our friends or loved ones, with people from our past, with beauty in the world around us. In personal relationships we may lose our sense of self and need to find it again, we may put others first, and we may lose sight of our needs in the process. This work was also a journey into exploring what it means to love again; loving yourself and bringing your best self to your partnerships/friendships/platonic relationships. By incorporating bits and pieces of my personal journal pages, reusing parts of the canvas that were scraped off in previous studio sessions, I am creating a physical manifestation of what it is like to leave little parts of yourself with the people you meet. As I worked on this, I kept thinking about how it's ok to be vulnerable and to allow people to see parts of you that you normally wish to hide. I was also thinking about how it's ok to be "soft" because that takes courage. The color palette changed throughout the various layers put into this work, but ultimately these soft pastel colors emerged, inspired by spring, the refreshing change of seasons and new beginnings.
While layering and removing paint and artifacts into this work, I was deliberating on what it means for us to reconnect; with ourselves, with our friends or loved ones, with people from our past, with beauty in the world around us. In personal relationships we may lose our sense of self and need to find it again, we may put others first, and we may lose sight of our needs in the process. This work was also a journey into exploring what it means to love again; loving yourself and bringing your best self to your partnerships/friendships/platonic relationships. By incorporating bits and pieces of my personal journal pages, reusing parts of the canvas that were scraped off in previous studio sessions, I am creating a physical manifestation of what it is like to leave little parts of yourself with the people you meet. As I worked on this, I kept thinking about how it's ok to be vulnerable and to allow people to see parts of you that you normally wish to hide. I was also thinking about how it's ok to be "soft" because that takes courage. The color palette changed throughout the various layers put into this work, but ultimately these soft pastel colors emerged, inspired by spring, the refreshing change of seasons and new beginnings.
Release/Renew/Transform 2021: A Series in Progress
Since October 31, 2020 I have been working on larger scale canvases (48 x 48 inches) that examine my connection to myself, my habits and cycles regarding personal relationships and my relationship to my creative practice. Aiming to break myself of familiar ways of working, and looking for ways to creatively expand. I completed "Release" Nov. 29th, 2020 and moved on to beginning "Renew", which has been a several month long journey with some pauses. Through each layer added onto "Renew" I am finding I am able to leave something of myself behind, while exploring what's to come. Through my words, collages, and brush strokes I am manifesting a new love for myself, and breaking from the comforting creative routines I have been accustomed to. We are all works in progress and our work is never done.
Mercury Retrograde Series 3
These small works on paper are created as daily timed "challenges" during the period of Jan 30-Feb 21, 2020 as the planet Mercury is retrograde. During this time, communication and emotions are heightened, mishaps and frustrations are common, and this intense energy is exacerbated by world events, extreme weather, the ongoing pandemic and the need for human interaction. Works in this series were created under a 2 hour time limit per piece.
Mercury Retrograde Series 2
These small works on paper are created as daily timed "challenges" during the period of October 12-November 3rd, 2020 as the planet Mercury is retrograde. During this time, communication and emotions are heightened, mishaps and frustrations are common, and this intense energy is exacerbated by world events, and the tense political climate in the U.S.
Quarantine Series
These works were created during the period of time beginning Mid-March 2020 through present. Aiming to explore the interconnectivity of the shared human experience as it relates to being in solitude during a global pandemic, these pieces reflect on memories, anxiety, fears, heartache and loss through layers of found collage, painting and drawing media and text. Two works from this series, "Alone/Together" and "Home" are currently on view a the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, NY as part of the 2020 Long Island Biennial.
Mercury Retrograde Series 1
These small works on paper were created as daily timed "challenges" during the period of February 17-March 11, 2020 as the planet Mercury was retrograde. During a Mercury retrograde period, communication and technology are challenged, emotions are heightened, mishaps and frustrations are common. This also happened to be pre-COVID19 quarantine.
Winter Solstice Series
These works, entitled “Winter Solstice I,II, and III” were created the weekend of the winter solstice. This time of year is an excellent time for reflecting on the past and the winter solstice marks a time for transitioning; leaving the past behind and making way for something new.
Jupiter Series
These works were inspired by the recent transition of Jupiter into the sign of Capricorn. This transit sets us up for putting our goals into action. It’s an excellent time to make plans and sculpt the future you want for yourself.
2019 Eclipse Series
Eclipses are powerful and leave their effects on us emotionally for months after their initial event. Through stained fibers, collage, writing and other textural media, each piece creates a unique, abstracted lunar landscape. I was heavily inspired by astrologer Jessica Lanyadoo and her podcast "Ghost of a Podcast". During this last eclipse I had experienced very heightened emotions that provoked me to grow and find ways to better love and understand myself through journaling and therapy. Feeling the feminine energy of the moon, I was inspired to use a palette of violets and pinks, contrasted with grays and black.
2019 Twin Flames Series
If you are fortunate enough to have met your Twin Flame, you have found someone who is a mirror unto yourself. You may see the things you wish to change about yourself in the other person. We all have work to do on ourselves; to find our purpose and to find the ultimate love. A Twin Flame relationship uncovers things about ourselves, and can be a rollercoaster of emotion; full of love and light but also painful at times. You may separate and return to each other. These works aim to reveal something about ourselves through hiding and uncovering a variety of textures, found media, and color.
2019 Connections Series
We are all connected through shared phenomena and events in our life; birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, death. We come together when someone is born; when someone dies. As individuals we both experience and process these events differently from each other, whether it be through different traditions, rituals, belief systems, etc. I chose to process my important events in my life, such as the recent death of my grandmother, through these works as powerful displays of color, overlapping textures and expressive marks on canvas surfaces. Each piece includes something that was hers, whether it was a scrap of gift wrap, a ticket stub, a note she wrote, in layering it under and throughout the work it connects me to her, while simultaneously allowing me to release my grief.
2018 Memories Series
Someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds, according to current statistics. Memories are something we hold dear, we keep things tucked in special parts of our brain, sometimes saving them for when we need them. Memories can be happy, comforting, sad, traumatic, they can be triggered by a scent, a breeze, a word, a smile. Through these works, I grappled with my grandmother's diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia, incorporating things I collected from her when she first went into an assisted living facility. These works are like maps of our brains, how one thought comes in or out; a memory might stay, or it might get hidden by something else or fade out into oblivion. The layers of media in these works represent my way of organizing and documenting my memories as they pertain to various events such as my grandmother's dementia diagnosis, mass shootings in the U.S., and the role of women in society.
2017 Expedition Series
These works were created as an ode to female scientists that go overlooked. These heavily layered mixed media collages on paper both hide and reveal portraits of women, juxtaposed with paintings of tallships; representing the expeditions women have embarked on to bring us closer to understanding the universe. Additionally inspired by astrophysics, the concept of a ship emerging from an abstraction of color and texture is meant to represent the vastness of the universe and how we are but small blips floating in an infinite "sea".
