Creating has given me a new form of communication. I start with questions, posed as ideas or sketches themselves, and search for answers within various media. What textures can a certain media be used to create a specific scene? What colors can place someone in my own lived experience? How can the contrast of materials make an audience relate to a childhood memory or nostalgia? Being a mixed-media artist has given me more opportunities to express and connect these questions and connect with my viewers. An important part of my process is keeping my experiences as the oldest daughter and second oldest of a family of eight in mind. I make for the daughter who’s always pushed back and searched for her answers. Alongside myself, I ask for answers from others as well. 

My goal as an artist is to create a space for others to have the freedom to be creative. I want to be able to create work that inspires others to create for themselves. With my art, I want to show the opportunities for healing and learning through creating.

I work in multi-media to tell my own story and exploration. There isn’t one medium that seems to fit the complexities of my own experiences. The explorations of oil paints, acrylic, pastels, markers, and colored pencils are the beginning of the search for answers. Whether the experience is temporary or engraved into our lives, it’s just as complex as the other. While creating and generating work may not answer the questions I’ve given myself at the beginning, I hope with time and practice they’ll accumulate into what might make sense as an answer.