Artist Statement

The figure has always been a main inspiration for artists of all kinds. My work with the figure started early in college. I pulled images of figures from my background in cheer and dance. The capture of dynamic movement not only made for amazing shapes, but also an intensity and vibration in the pattern. The repeated image accounts for this movement and illusion. It also references back to the formations and intricate choreography that is put into an entire team of people creating a dance. When working in a team, everyone needs to work together to create something as a whole.

Much of my work with patterns has to do with this repetition, sequence, and illusion through the images as well as the process.

It is important for me to produce an initial pattern by hand. The repetition of tracing the template, as well as the method of painting the pattern, functions as a meditative space for me.

How I translate that pattern afterward is where I get to explore. When it covers a 2D surface the details and illusion come to the forefront. What you see within the pattern becomes most important. When the pattern covers a 3D surface it becomes something else. It covers, protects, and/or changes the object underneath it.

I am interested in covering the human figure. Whether it is directly onto the skin or through fabric. The pattern image is the body captured in movement and re-contextualized. By putting it back on the body I am returning it to its purest form and inspiration therefore bringing it back to life.