Artist’s Statement September, 2004 My work could really be considered a map of my brain, and if it were a real place, I think archeologists would have a lot of fun there. A head full of memories, imagery, colors, song clips, imagined and real characters, patterns, and photos converge to create a new language on my canvasses. I am telling the world what I see, what I hear, what is silly, and what is beautiful. I am constantly inspired by the funny little things everyday people are doing. Like the man that hugs the trees in my neighborhood every morning or remembering the $.99 Giant Pecan Logs at the truck stop near Tupelo, Mississippi. I collect observations of the absurd in every day life and then filter it all into a new, more optimistic re-mix of the world. Sometimes I even appear as the “Squirrel Girl,” a character that was born from a dream in which a squirrel saved my life in a Chicago public park (I also had a dream about hippies breaking into my grandpa’s house, but that hasn’t made it into my work quite yet). Girlish femininity is peppered throughout my work with the use of bright beautiful colors, flowery iconography, female issues, clothing patterns, and a sort of furriness. The fanciful nature of my work does not come from a desire for escapism, but rather from the optimism I maintain in the face of the blue meanies. When people see my work, I would like them to initially see the form and beauty of the big picture. Then I’d like to to lead them into the little details festooned throughout. A re-translation of the world around us: simple, yet more complex upon further study. I would like them to see the things that I find interesting, and hopefully by doing so, entertain them. My current work has ballooned to much larger scale since moving from a 1,000 square foot apartment in Chicago to a nice big old house in Michigan. It has allowed me to be more audacious with my work, and it has been wonderful. My formal training began with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL, and continued at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore Maryland to obtain an MA in Digital Art. |
|