Artist Statement
My art has always had a very physical presence, even in my two dimensional pieces there is a sense of "thingness" to them. My mother is an interior designer and my grandmother always appreciated the finer things in life so I grew up naturally drawn to materials and their surfaces. My practice involves a lot of discovery and collecting. Once I have acquired an object that peaks my interest for one reason or another, I will live with it in my studio for a period of time. I find it important to become acquainted with your materials and understand them; they will begin to feel as though they belong in the space and will complement other materials in that space. After this process is completed I can begin to put a piece together.
I also grew up in the deep South, where traditions are held in reverence above all else. Sentimentality runs so deeply in our culture that it turns the minds of those who lived there into something of a broken record. When I went to college and started traveling, I began to recognize these strange truths in my heritage, as a southern woman, and I bring that discovery into my work. I like the juxtaposition of objects that subtly reference this idealistic southern culture against the backdrop of something more unforgiving and simplistic, a reference to reality.
I appreciate that my audience can take a purely formal interpretation of my art but I also appreciate that for some, the social commentary being communicated between the materials comes very naturally. I am not looking for people to reach a sense of higher understanding or nirvana while experiencing my pieces or smack them in the face with my “artistic truths”. My goal is to enhance the materials I work with in a way that makes sense to my audience and gives the pieces a sense of belonging in that space.
I also grew up in the deep South, where traditions are held in reverence above all else. Sentimentality runs so deeply in our culture that it turns the minds of those who lived there into something of a broken record. When I went to college and started traveling, I began to recognize these strange truths in my heritage, as a southern woman, and I bring that discovery into my work. I like the juxtaposition of objects that subtly reference this idealistic southern culture against the backdrop of something more unforgiving and simplistic, a reference to reality.
I appreciate that my audience can take a purely formal interpretation of my art but I also appreciate that for some, the social commentary being communicated between the materials comes very naturally. I am not looking for people to reach a sense of higher understanding or nirvana while experiencing my pieces or smack them in the face with my “artistic truths”. My goal is to enhance the materials I work with in a way that makes sense to my audience and gives the pieces a sense of belonging in that space.