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Bio
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, making art and spending nights at a cavernous punk club in Kentucky. I left after receiving my BFA from the University of Cincinnati. Since then, I have called the San Francisco Bay Area home, seeing it change from arts-friendly to tech-driven. I received my MFA from San Francisco Art Institute, where I focused on painting. Since 2019, I have focused on the exploration of printmaking, specifically monotypes. The direct, painterly nature of the medium leads to work getting done quickly, an approach that works well for me. Ā
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Statement
I am interested in creating evidence of human presence in each image that I make. Humans are represented in bare-bones ways, sometimes just faces and nothing more. Whether through portraits of lone figures or an array of many, I intend to get to the essence of representations of people. In my work, the people remain enigmatic yet still show a range of emotions. As my approach to making art is largely instinctive, my work is filled with imagery and associations directly from my subconscious. I also leave space for the viewer to make their own interpretations.āÆ
My approach has been to go to the studio as early as I can, with as little on my mind as possible. Drawing with altered Q-tips, rubber tools, brushes, and rags into ink rolled onto Plexiglas has helped to get me in touch with the process of making images, and I trust that years of exposure to and making of art can lead to a few successful prints on any given day.
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What continues to motivate you to create your work?
I think I have feelings inside of me that I can best express through creating images. Also, I havenāt always been as disciplined about making art as I am now, so I figure I should just keep forging ahead while I have this approach. Additionally, I tell myself that with all the time I devoted to art growing up, I owe it to myself to stay productive art-wise. Ā
Who or what influences your practice?
I have an MFA, so I spent a lot of time studying art and making work in the academic context. My experiences in school remain an influence. Also, while growing up I had a voracious appetite for looking at other artistsā work, so although I focus on getting images onto paper quickly, all the artists I have investigated end up being influential. I have also played in bands and listened to lots of music, and writing songs isnāt too far off from making art for me. Ā
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How would you describe the mood of your work?
I would say there is an element of mystery, and that the humans portrayed in my work remain enigmatic. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with ghosts and hauntings, and I feel like that interest creeps into the art I make. Also, I have heard people describe my work as āpsychologicalā, and that makes sense in that I deeply value psychology and have read a lot about art and psychoanalysis. Ā
What do you feel is the most challenging part of being an artist?
Staying motivated and hungry to make art. I have this figured out right now, but that hasnāt always been the case. Also, I think artists often fall into a trap of being disorganized, which gets in the way of productivity. I was inspired when I read that the musician Nick Caveās approach to writing songs involved working in a rented office and keeping office hours. When I go into the studio, I keep this disciplined approach in mind.
Tell us about something from your creative life that you are particularly proud of.
Being able to remain creative while working full-time. After getting my MFA, job prospects were slim, so I returned to school a few years later and completed an MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) degree. I currently work for a company that supports libraries and academia. Iām proud of being able to balance this mostly left-brain work with the right-brain creative side. I often heard the warning that āday jobsā can kill your creativity, but thankfully that has not been the case for me.
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