ABOUT
I am dissecting my own relationship with occupied structures by collecting and building objects. I have found that as my processes have expanded, I have come to understand my own relationship on the broad subject of the house, and my desires associated with stability. I have come across this fixation through anxieties around inconsistency in what “home” means, and the lack of permanent residence throughout my life. I also believe this anxiety is a collective one within our world. While those anxieties have cornered my making for a long time, I have also found fluidity and interest in the work from a constructive outlook on the dismal scenarios in the housing world. I began in 2017 by focusing on the exterior of structures when I set out on this body of work. I began to feel exhausted, however, with the graphic and literal nature of my work and found that they held me and viewers at arm’s length. This exhaustion has led me to explore additions back into my work that I had previously stripped out, like furniture, interior space, lighting, and limited functionality. Rather than literal recreations of buildings, I began to focus on my own objects that I have traveled with and defined my own space. This shifted my work from sculptures to objects and arrangements. I find relief working in this more personal manner, with my own collected objects on display incorporated with my ceramic vessels. This reacquaintance with interior spaces and furniture objects allows the work to move freely in and out of the recognizable and the weird. Interior and exterior have a hand in this back and forth, as well as found objects and made objects. These curated arrangements I could see as storage for display sake (Entering a space and bringing my own objects with a high population of ceramic).
Is there a word or term that contains the meaning of value that is not materialistic? Not financial. Something that can describe the feeling of that old wooden dresser that is carried from place to place to place the one with the scratches and that gimpy drawer. The chair that hurts your back and lacks caneing in all the noticeable places. The furniture on the side of the road that you “feel” for as you drive by. The lamp you get for a deal on the risk it may not even turn on anymore. That gut feeling? I can't place it in words but it's somewhere between pity-desire-guilt-and love. Something that has been worked into the objects over time. Important to note not all objects have them yet it isn't a rarity. Maybe it's just personal taste.
Education
BFA
Otterbein University
MFA Candidate
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Awards
2018
Otterbein University Dean’s List, Westerville, OH
Kessler Art & English Award, Otterbein University, Westerville, OH
Cardinal Grant, Otterbein University, Westerville OH
Exhibition
Group
2022
Goldner Walsh Garden and Home Show, Pontiac, MI
Cranbrook Chair Show Detroit Month of Design, Detroit, MI
Ground Floor Forum Gallery, CAA, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2021
"Not a Cup Sale" Forum Gallery, CAA , Bloomfield Hills, MI
2020
2020 "Re Imagined" Overzealous Fine Art Exhibition, Art Space Connect Gallery, Toronto, ON
Artists Choice Show, The Beyond Gallery, Bennington, VT
Fresh Looks 2020 Exhibition, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan
2019
Otterbein Juried Exhibition, Otterbein University, Westerville, OH
2018
Otterbein Juried Exhibition, Otterbein University, Westerville, OH