Wrap Your Arms Around Me

Most of the personal themes in this project are not things I am comfortable with expressing verbally or textually. The reason they came out in this body of work is because it how I found myself comfortably addressing them. I can acknowledge that I was working through frustration, pain, and confusion related to my body and relationship to other bodies. Being a private person, however, I am far more interested in people approaching this work with their own narratives and associations than using it to get a glimpse into my own personal struggles. While visually and thematically the work can be very dark, it was also my intention to make work that is fun to look at. I am very drawn to texture and tactility, and so that became a jumping off point for how to make things that are visually exciting. I also really wanted to suggest that the pieces had an inside and an outside by either building up or cutting into the surface, and contrasting dry outer forms with wet inner ones. While processes and sculpting were slow and methodical, composition was more intuitive and spontaneous. Above all, I tried to approach this subject matter playfully so that I would enjoy making it and looking at it. Furthermore, it has raised questions about material, process, and theme that do not feel entirely answered, and that I will continue to pursue