← Return to The Space in Between: 2021 Senior Art Exhibition
My work focuses on the process of creation, layering, and growth beyond an idea. For this series of paintings, I employed a new process: creating abstracted forms out of clay, photographing them, then making paintings based on these pictures. I am interested in the process of creating, the intimacy it holds, the warmth it creates, the values it imbues, and the narratives that come from it. I see creation not just as a way to convey meaning, but also as a way to find meaning—uncovering unexpected forms and ideas throughout the process. I appreciate clay’s flexibility; its ability to give form to abstract thoughts and feelings, to lend physicality to an idea I want to convey. I want the viewer to be able to see the strokes that shaped the finished object and build a sense of intimacy through this connection. I'm interested in narrative—creating scenes that suggest a story without having a single correct answer—to inspire thought about the process of shaping the clay, translating it to paint, and the layers of information that are built for the viewer to unpack. Layering is an important aspect of my work: layers of paint that don’t completely cover what’s underneath, conveying a sense of time through layers of color. Layers of information: different planes and objects interacting in a space to create a sense of volume. Layers of process: the sculpture, the photo, the painting, and the translation that occurs between media. Within the process of creation and iteration between media, there is a growth beyond the original concept. I'm interested in exploring what grows from this process.