I see creative expression as a way of engaging with the world around me, or as Paulo Coehlo puts it, learning the “language of the universe”. I approach my art inquisitively and playfully, and am inspired by long moments and fleeting encounters with Ithaca’s forests, rivers, flora and fauna; the beauty and complexity of human bodies; the stories and experiences of my family and community; and intimate moments with friends, family, spirit, and self.

I am still learning new mediums (and hope to do so as long as I continue to create), but I mainly work in collage, drawing and painting, and have greatly enjoying exploring printmaking this spring. Through printmaking’s distinct process of repetition and alteration I engage themes of gender, desire, intimacy, and the body. This series, “Lovers in Blue”, featurues self-curated portraits of some of my closest friends that I have printed, cut, arranged, collaged, and transferred. They are part of a larger journey of inquiring into how socially constructed ideas of gender, sexuality, and ways of relating to others might be disrupted and re-imagined by the Queer and/or Female gaze when lovingly directed back at oneself.