artist statement
In my work I am approaching the spectrum of human emotions through the process of printmaking. Specifically I focus on tenderness, vulnerability, selfishness, abandonment, grief, and resentment.
All of these feelings are difficult to openly engage with, my work is very personal and I mainly make my work with self in mind. My work is meant to become a mirror, to open oneself to the idea of difficult emotional processing, which starts by acknowledging the feeling.
The reason that I utilize the printmaking process is because it allows me to have control. I can force the materials to do what I want. However, the materials have a personality and things can go wrong. I enjoy stone lithography in particular because the limestone feels like an extension and illusion of myself, it is stubborn and expressive; I engage in a dialogue with myself through the stone. Printmaking is an extension of my experience as a human.
Using imagery such as farmscapes and basic midwestern americana rural landscapes from my home that I care about, I am cultivating a visual space in which I feel a heightened sense of control of my autonomy. The landscapes allow me to explore the emotions and have the adequate visual and conceptual space to consider them wholly. I use soft visuals to accompany a thought or an idea that I would like myself to explore deeper and ponder. All of this paired with the labor I produce through the print process is what makes my work meaningful to me.