Ever since I was young, I’ve had all of these thoughts and worlds buzzing around the inside of my head, begging to be released. Stories and ideas that I had yet to develop the skillset to enact were just starting to take shape, and as such they would simmer in my mind, stewing until I could let them out. I have always looked to the world around me for inspiration, and often my work and my stories are a direct response to something I have seen. My father once told me that if I’m afraid, to create and use that energy for creation rather than letting it linger. Silence is safe, but if everyone stays silent, there will be no one to listen. Speak out of turn, let people hear all of you, not just the facets you’ve been taught to polish. Now when I’m angry at the state of the world, voices that are silenced and go unheard, or when people are being hurt, I channel all of that into my art to force someone, anyone to see what they’ve ignored. With pieces such as these, I aim for a juxtaposition of something comforting- such as childish imagery or scenes that would otherwise provide comfort- with something that makes the viewer confront everything they try to avoid. If I’ve made you uncomfortable or touched some part of your soul that you can relate to, I’ve done my job.
As a child, I channeled these ideas into play, and as I grew, they started to shift into more concise art. A change occurred, and yet, the fun remained, an aspect of play persisted in the joy of creation. I love getting my hands dirty, and everything that I do leans directly into the process of it all. Whenever I work, I need a physical aspect that I can hold in my hands. I love the amount of work that goes into every facet of my pieces, complicating the process until I’m satisfied with the end result. Everything is deliberate, down to the most miniscule detail. In a world becoming increasingly sanitized and scrubbed of human touches, one that is becoming hostile to the very people it claims to help, I crave physicality. Regardless of whether I am working in a solely physical medium or a digitized format, my process always includes a great deal of research and reference, often made completely by my own hand. Furthermore, I will often take found objects for inspiration, using them as references or aspects of the final piece. In short, if I can get my hands on it, there’s a good chance I will incorporate it into my process one way or another.
I believe that my very process of work tells a story as well, as when laid bare you can see the roadmap that it took for me to get where I am. Even the most seemingly unnecessary scrap of writing, notation on a character, or background sketch all hold a piece to the puzzle of the final product. My hands tell the story that my heart can’t, and I hold every aspect of creation in the same high regard. The base sketch holds the same level of importance in the end that the color palette or an inspiration board does. Every aspect tells it’s own chapter, and by the finale, you have a whole world in a piece that may be picked apart and savored. You, the viewer, may only be able to see one or two parts of the process in the whole, but as you peel back the layers, the work comes alive.
