Artists Statement

Being an interdisciplinary maker, this body of work falls in the metal, ceramics, sculpture, and textile realms. Each medium lends itself to intrinsically communicating a different aspect of illness. The textile work tends to focus on the interpersonal aspects such as how others can drag you down, but also how they can build you back up. Ceramics focuses more on how form and color can represent some of the deep emotions experienced when dealing with a disability. The work in metals thus far has edged on the darker side of health. It explores how a chronic illness creates a foreboding future at times as well as the relationship between mental health and disability. While I only recently started working in sculpture, the pieces are a conceptual balance of the light and dark sides. Overall, some pieces clearly discuss illness, whereas others are more reserved and can be viewed as purely aesthetic. These represent the unseen and the unspoken. In living with chronic/mental illness, the symptoms may not be obvious unless the individual lets them be known. While my experience is rather unique, the work is open-ended so the viewer can place their experience into the narrative.

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I was diagnosed with a chronic illness when I was very young. Growing up I felt isolated, and because it was an invisible illness, often no one else knew I was suffering unless I told them. It may have been obvious at times because of how badly I felt, but I mainly kept everything private. My mental health suffered from this. My biggest goal in making art is to let others like me know that they’re not alone. The work offers a sense of community and kinship to those who have similar experiences.