No Time
Digital Collage
September 2014
91cm x 61cm
This piece is loosely inspired by Gerhard Richter’s hazy paintings of mountains and candles. Those pieces reminded me of memories and how they lose their vibrancy with age. I wanted to create a piece that felt familiar like a memory for me. This made me think about how our memories and others’ memories of us fade away until we are forgotten. I used my own image fading from view in this piece to present that idea, along with a foggy field and the piece beig in black and white.
Anna and the Train
Ink Block Print
October 2014
23cm x 16 cm
While making the block print I immediately thought of German expressionism and especially Kirchner’s work. That pure emotion that can be presented through his work is also presented through literature. I thought of the novel Anna Karenina and the emotion I felt in Anna’s final scene. I wanted to represent this passionate scene through a medium historically used to express emotion.
Child and Teacups
ink Dry point and Watercolor
November 2014
11 cm x 16cm
This piece began as an interpretation of modern relationships between mothers and children, but soon became a self portrait expressing my own relationship with my mother. I was inspired by Mary Cassatt’s drypoints of mothers and daughters. She represents relationships with both characters as a bystander. I could only represent one side of the story. Eventually as I drew, what was once the image of a nameless child became a portrait representing my past self.
Untitled
Mixed Media
november 2014
Approx. 33cm x 20cm
This piece was loosely inspired by Phoebe Washburn’s installation piece “Nunderwater Nort Lab”. I wanted to interpret her nest-like piece into a relevant issue in my life. I wanted to create and explore a narrative work. The piece can be interpreted in many ways but it is clear that the piece tells the story of something that was once in a cage then leaving said cage. For me, the piece was about growing up. I wanted express the strength it takes to leave home and the restrictions it entails.
Self portrait
Acrylic on Canvas
December 2014
91cm x 91cm
I was inspired by Renoir’s “The Bohemien”. I wanted to focus on employing his vast array of colors. This painting challenged me to create an extensive amount of colors all without the aid of black, which brightens the work as a whole. I was also moved by Renoir’s philosophy of art while creating this piece. He said, “Why shouldn’t art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.” I too agree with his philosophy which is why a self portrait inspired by his work seemed so fitting.
Natural T-Bone
Mixed Media
January 2015
Approx. 26cm x 29cm
For this piece I wanted to focus on a global issue. Factory farming is a growing industry in America and across the world. The unnatural, inhumane living conditions of animals forces us to question whether our food it truly natural or not. This inspired me to shed light on this question by creating a steak out of wire, hardware and bone. By combining industrial and organic materials the piece infers that it is nearly impossible to differ the two anymore.
Untitled Triptych
Oil on Canvas
February 2015
30cm x 61cm
In this triptych I wanted to express my interaction with Milwaukee through modern cafe culture. During the impressionists’ era artists painted cafe culture then, in their style. For this piece I wanted to explore that same concept through a contemporary style. For this I was inspired by local artist Janet Bruhn. She uses high contrast between paint layers which I see a lot in contemporary art. Trying to embody her style was challenging and it forced me to think about painting in a new way.
Oolong
Mixed Media
May 2015
5 cm x 10 cm x 4.5 cm
For this piece I wanted to focus on the history of tea. I drink tea everyday but I had never thought about where my tea came from. I did some research and was intrigued by the history of the tea trade in China. I wanted to use this piece as an opportunity to reflect on the naivety I had about something that I interacted with everyday. I was inspired by Chinese landscapes which I tried to recreate on the outside of the cup.
Self PORTRAIT #2
Mixed Media
61 cm x 91 cm
May 2015
This piece was inspired by Howard Tangye collection of mixed media drawings. I wanted to explore his minimalistic approach to portraiture along with the use of multiple mediums. In this piece I had to let go of my familiar approach to creating. In order to make a brighter more interesting portrait. It was especially difficult for me to leave blank space on the paper and to use abstract colors to represent the shading of the face.