Artist Statement

“What feels right in this exact moment?” This is what I ask myself before creating.

With found objects and materials, I transform reality around me into a playful fantasy, after all, life is play. These actions and creations become interactive painting installations that are grounded in reality but influenced by the fantastical. This happens when enough ‘things’ are collected, curated, transformed, and combined to make an environment that is familiar, yet unknown. With collage and assemblage methodologies as well as crafting, frivolous story-telling is ignited with a maximalist lens. I describe the work as a ‘visual coping mechanism,’ as I’m inherently a silly person trying to enjoy the often cruel reality around us. My goal with the work is to ignite the joy and play within myself as well as others. I also hope to dethrone the serious and pretentious attitude of a traditional gallery space to make it accessible to people of all intersections. The point of the installations being interactive is so childlike sensibilities are kindled in conjunction with the crafted and kitsch objects around them. I hope to remind the experiencer that art can be found every day, both visually and through their actions.