Artist Statement

I am a multidisciplinary artist who merges installation with painting. My work is directly influenced by my personal history of growing up in rural Connecticut; it is a way to make sense of my youth. My childhood was characterized by traumatic emotional circumstances over which I had little control. However, my grandmother and the natural environment of New England became a beacon of safety, allowing me space to reconcile generational abuse and alcoholism. I sought out what I lacked in my childhood home in my relationship with my grandmother. For this reason, comfort and place are intrinsically tied in my work because they build up over time; in other words, being rooted in a place instills comfort.

The unforeseen and jarring death of my grandmother led me to find consolation in ritualistic acts as a means of processing my own grief. After her death, I had an innate need to hold onto each precious moment that we shared and freeze time. Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, writes, “Ceremony focuses attention so that attention becomes intention…Ceremonies transcend the boundaries of the individual and resonate beyond the human realm.”[1]Utilizing ritual, I immortalize memories of relationships and spaces I long for -- while also honoring that which I have lost.

My artistic practice centers around elevating objects that I place meaning upon. In this way, they become emotional containers. The detail I incorporate in my paintings and drawings references the poignant weight of my relationships. In addition, the materials embodied in my installations are meticulously chosen to recreate intimate spaces of solace and reflection.

[1]  Robin Wall Kimmerer. “An Offering.” Essay. In Braiding Sweetgrass, 249. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2020.