Artist Statement: Expanded Version

Let’s take a deep breath and reflect on our own personal identities and how the past has shaped us, for better or worse. We shouldn’t forget to account for the moments that are locked away so deep in us that we never recognize them as part of us. We can take this time to be vulnerable, open, and kind with each other. Taking the courage to share more than you are willing to share, let others find solace in our words, your words, my words.

So much is happening and so much has happened within my life and the world that I find my own solace and identity within drawings and haiku. I let my mind free flow and congeal into a blob, letting it grow organically and form a moment in my life. A moment lived, a moment unprocessed, and a moment put into stasis and structure through haiku and printmaking.

A haiku makes sense
It forces problem solving

In a structured form.

Once those structures are put into place, symbolic imagery and colors are used to fill in the gaps. Color is used in three ways. First, color wakes up dormant memories that live within myself. I use color as color-coded folders that are associated with different moments. Secondly, the color’s deeper-rooted history and/or association come into consideration, I think about emotions associated with color as well as the psychology of colors. Lastly, it’s used as ways to craft identities within the imagery. All of these colors are corralled and placed mindfully to create a larger work.

Each piece lives on their own or with each other in a larger installation. Whispering amongst themselves, they grab the attention of the viewer, who is then drawn into my reality and allowed to become lost, breathe, and reflect. I’m telling stories for others to seek common ground in.