Artist Statement

Routine introspection yields profound emotional insights, fostering more authentic expressions of identity. Emotions, when unprocessed, can affect our physiology, underscoring the vital role of mindfulness. In a world overwhelmed by trend cycles and sensory overload, I create visual sanctuaries that can be used as subliminal meditations in any space they occupy.

I believe that objects absorb energy, and what we discard can be as telling as what we cherish. Blending painting and fiber art with tokens of daily life, I consider identity, authenticity, and value systems. When engaging with my work, I hope you’re challenged to reflect more deeply on the connections you share with yourself, others, and the physical world, but more than anything I hope you’re exposed to the ways that art touches a part of you that isn’t fully understood.

Informed by a background in healthcare, I know creating and observing art can be a modality for achieving wellbeing. I have worked as a research assistant and Bachelor’s prepared nurse in the following areas of medicine: Epigenetics, Neuro Trauma, Hospice, and Wound Care. I am co-author of 3 different research studies that support these claims, and they can be found under the Read tab on this website. All of these experiences have fed my fascination with people and constantly inform my creative practice.

Process

My process starts first with mindful selection of materials from sustainable sources and brands whenever possible. Most often my favorite tools come from estate sales or the hardware store. My practice is interdisciplinary, but focuses largely on painting and fiber art. For painted work, gestural strokes, rudimentary symbols, and layers of paint are applied to long pieces of loose canvas. I then sew the pieces back together to form new and compelling compositions. I love working this way because the marks remain honest and uninhibited, meaning the final pieces feel like the most captivating people at the party meeting for the first time. Fiber art allows me to incorporate tactile materials that invite more experiential engagement than 2D media. I like when art engages more than one sense, recruiting multiple parts of the brain to fire concurrently.

I donate 3% of my profit to a new charity each quarter. If you know of one that should be on my radar, please reach out.

Bio

Originally from Kansas City, I grew up in a loud and passionate family that taught me self-expression as a basic instinct and necessity to get a word in at the dinner table. Fiery, honest and empathetic since the womb, I’ve never known another way of being and have always used art as a vehicle for expression. Responding to a strong call to help people with my love of science, I received my Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Tulsa and have used every experience since as field research for my creative practice.

I love estate sales, dessert, and anything tiny, but am deeply uninterested in musicals, hiking, and Sourdough. I work from my home studio in Oklahoma where my partner, Jeremy, and I bask in the orbit of our cheeky daughter, Layla.

My work has been commissioned by corporate and private individuals nationally and internationally, as well as featured in print and digital mediums. Some notable clients include 1Hotels, Evereve and Hilton.

I’m currently represented by Prairiebrooke Arts in Kansas City.