My work is an investigation of place, home, nostalgia, and a representation of the sacred found through creation. Place has formed me and positioned me in landscapes that continually shape my understanding of God. I often recontextualize what He has made in ways that are palpably divine for the viewer. My work does not invent anything new, but puts a magnifying glass to the divine qualities already embedded in creation. Additionally, home and nostalgia for things lost inform my work in a way that feels familiar, but detached. These feelings stem from a search for familiarity through the perspective of passed time.
A mixed media approach has allowed me to explore the complexities of God’s designs and represent them more fully in my body of work. Texture serves as a primary language in both my photographic and ceramic works. The surface quality of water, rocks, trees, and shells is often a prominent point of interest. In recent work, the addition of my own body creates visual parallels between the human form and creation. My practice overall seeks to put forth a shadow of God’s designs in the hope that it will spur the viewer into their own exploration of His wondrous nature.
Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?
To be confident in the direction I am headed in! The Lord is always guiding my hands and my steps. I wish I would have had assurance of this sooner.
What's your favorite A+D memory?
Getting to speak to Foundations and encourage them! It was a very full circle moment, as I remember the day the upperclassmen came and spoke to us when I was a freshman.
What was your favorite A+D class?
Advanced Ceramics
What moment, project, and/or critique in your Art + Design career at AU has been pivotal to who you are as an artist or creator?
At the end of Photo 2, my class had a very emotional and impactful final critique. We reached a level of closeness that allowed us to be extremely vulnerable with each other and be very honest about the work we were making.
What’s next for you? I will be continuing to make in my home studio and exhibiting work! I hope to open a gallery in Pittsburgh in the future!
How do you hope your work makes an impact? I hope that my work allows those who don't know God to see a glimpse of Him, and those who do, to see Him in a fresh light.