About Me
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I grew up deep in the woods of interior Alaska, north of Denali in the Tanana river valley. From a young age I fostered a deep connection to nature and the world around me. Growing up in a rural community, I would spend hours playing in the woods with the materials that grow there, nesting plastic dragons in the trees overlooking herds of ceramic horses galloping along the shore of a puddle. I loved to research and learn about the animals, plants, and natural processes that made up my world and I loved the ways that we choose to visually express these things through dioramas, murals, paintings, figures, and books. As a young child my mother was getting her Masters in Microbiology and I remember spending hours in the labs and research buildings on campus, looking at informational maps, posters, diagrams, and papers. When I pursued my own degree, the combination of information and visuals intrigued me as a way to connect with the public and divulge complex and unique scientific facts/processes. UAF was almost a second home and the hill and forest it stands on my playground and that was very much reflected in my art through schooling. Being away from Alaska for college, and watching my homestate be ravaged by the consequences of climate change was heartbreaking. The natural systems and processes that hold together the complex web of our planet are degrading and will soon be beyond rescue.
Now I live in the flathead valley, a few miles south of glacier. And while nature is still a heavy focus of my art, the lens has shifted to focus on much more. I look at women in our society. I look at the problems we have to face. The medical conditions gone untreated, the bias present in hospitals and doctor rooms, the pain ignored, the lack of access to care and the lack of the right to live free of pain. As I grew up, these problems found me, I did not go looking for them. I was diagnosed with Endometriosis after years of pain and a surgery. After suppression tactics with hormones that barely helped and caused more issues, my doctor and I decided the best way forward would be a hysterectomy to try and control the spread of the endometrial tissue. As I prepared my final thesis show with all of the art I made in college, I was watching the days count down to my surgery. I have a duty now, to spread awareness about these issues so that, hopefully, in the future, someone in my situation could have another option. My background and childhood heavily influence the art I make, themes of homesickness, love for nature, womanhood, and feminism flow through the vast majority of my work. My childhood was a mix of outdoor adventures, art, and science projects and in my work I combine these influences and interests. My mixed media projects have many facets and are to be viewed in different ways depending on the viewers background and history. They are intended to make the viewer stop and think. Maybe you see something you never understood before, maybe it's something you've never heard of, maybe it's just something interesting. I make my art for people to see and get interested. I want my art to lead you to something new, a new way of thinking, a new favorite subject, a new source of information. I want you to remember my art and remember the path it led you down. I think to myself, if I can change just one person's mind, provide one person with support and understanding, show someone they aren't alone, change someones world, then it's all worth doing. |
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Dualities govern much of human nature and action. Hot and cold, night and day, so much of our societal structure is built around these constantly shifting states. I find dualities in my own art, biology and technology, professional and personal, emotional and physical. These dualities present in two clear categories within my art, self reflection and species reflection.
I make art to understand myself and my emotions, trying to pull apart the many layers of detritus and fog that clouds the inner self. I try to understand and accept chronic illness, trauma, rage, nostalgia, depression and portray it in a way that matches my feelings, whether it be visceral or beautiful. This art is not for anyone but me. They are me in the most literal sense. They may not find meaning in the eyes of others, or maybe they will, but in the end it doesn't matter, as their purpose has already been fulfilled.
I make art to understand the world around me, the pollution and destruction, disregard of our planet and our solar neighbors. I try to visualize my own feelings about this corruption of our mother, a visceral mess of flesh and technology that consumes and does not replace. I want my viewers to understand the horror of what we have done. I want them to understand the grief of watching your home be burned and raped of its resources. I want them to understand the destruction entrenched in our history and to be held accountable for our filth and unrestrained growth. We are the pathogen, the parasite, but we don't have to be.
I make art to understand myself and my emotions, trying to pull apart the many layers of detritus and fog that clouds the inner self. I try to understand and accept chronic illness, trauma, rage, nostalgia, depression and portray it in a way that matches my feelings, whether it be visceral or beautiful. This art is not for anyone but me. They are me in the most literal sense. They may not find meaning in the eyes of others, or maybe they will, but in the end it doesn't matter, as their purpose has already been fulfilled.
I make art to understand the world around me, the pollution and destruction, disregard of our planet and our solar neighbors. I try to visualize my own feelings about this corruption of our mother, a visceral mess of flesh and technology that consumes and does not replace. I want my viewers to understand the horror of what we have done. I want them to understand the grief of watching your home be burned and raped of its resources. I want them to understand the destruction entrenched in our history and to be held accountable for our filth and unrestrained growth. We are the pathogen, the parasite, but we don't have to be.
Current Shows/In Progress Works
Tempestuous-Date/Location Unknown
Collaboration project with auditory artist Moira McBurney focusing on the many facets of wildfires and spreading information regarding safety and understanding.
Postliminary-Date/Location Unknown
Collection of pieces exploring the aftereffects of a hysterectomy.
Collaboration project with auditory artist Moira McBurney focusing on the many facets of wildfires and spreading information regarding safety and understanding.
Postliminary-Date/Location Unknown
Collection of pieces exploring the aftereffects of a hysterectomy.
Past Shows-Projects-Awards
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Up With Art-Bear Gallery / 2018 & 2019
First place winner in 2018 and first and third place winner in 2019 Certificate of Excellence for Originality and Creativity in the Visual Arts-The Mayors Office / 2017 & 2019
Received both years for art submitted to The Mayor's Show Paint the Doors-Downtown Fairbanks / 2017
Received the right to paint a mural in downtown Fairbanks for The Doors youth shelter |
First Friday Exhibit-Reese Greenhouse / 2018-2019
Exhibited art in both 2018 and 2019 as part of the first friday artist tradition in Fairbanks, Alaska First Friday Exhibit-Ursa Major Distillery / 2019
Exhibited art as part of the first friday artist tradition in Fairbanks, Alaska An Amalgamation of Worlds-Imagine Butte Resource Center / 2023
Bachelors Thesis Exhibition |
