Sweet on You dimensions: 1x5x3" materials: Clay, chalk pastel pigment, acrylic paint, wire, cellophane, resin date: 2021
Kitchen Garden dimensions: 3x5x2.5" materials: Clay, wire, foil, chalk pastel pigment date: 2021
Microorganized II dimensions: 3.5x4x0.5 materials: clay, acrylic paint, flocking, cotton, chalk pastel pigment date: 2021
Microorganized I dimensions: 4.4"x4"x0.5" materials: clay, acrylic paint, flocking, cotton date: 2020
Everything (and More) dimensions: 1.5x3x4” materials: Clay, paint, wire, pigment, recycled cellophane, fibers date: 2023 Green bottle flies (also known as blowflies) are pollinators as well as important decomposers. Their larvae provide valuable use in the medical and forensic fields.
Joyous Infestation dimensions: 14x7x7” materials: Clay, paint, wire, flocking date: 2023 Based on the wonderful wildflower bouquet picked for me at my outdoor socially-distanced pandemic micro-wedding by a dear friend, which turned out to be a double gift as it was full of caterpillars.
Putting Down Roots dimensions: 52x12.5x12.5” materials: Clay, acrylic paint, chalk pastel pigments, wire, sealant, coffee grounds, cotton date: 2021 The average length of a dandelion taproot is 6-18 inches, but they can grow up to 10 feet. A dandelion can regrow from as little as an inch of taproot left in the soil.
Formica/Formica dimensions: 0.5"x8"x6.25" materials: clay, mica pigment, acrylic paint, wire, pen, resin, spice date: 2022
Formica/Formica (detail)
Home Sweet Home (detail: female bee) dimensions: Variable (installation). Bees are 1x0.5x0.5" materials: Clay, acrylic paint, wire, sealant, cellophane, flocking date: 2022
Home Sweet Home (detail: male bee) dimensions: Variable (installation). Bees are 1x0.5x0.5" materials: Clay, acrylic paint, wire, sealant, cellophane, flocking date: 2022
The Fates dimensions: 5x4x3” materials: Clay, paint, wire, thread date: 2023
The Thing With Feathers dimensions: Variable (pigeon 4x10x4") materials: Clay, acrylic paint, wire, foil armature, sealant date: 2021
Irrepressible dimensions: 4"x16"x12" materials: Clay, foil, acrylic paint, sealant date: 2021
Stuck on You dimensions: 3"x9"x9" materials: Clay, acrylic paint date: 2021
Lost and Found dimensions: 2"x5"x5" materials: clay, acrylic paint, decoupage medium, spices, wire date: 2021 Misplaced keys exude stories.
Survival (Screaming Into the Void) dimensions: Variable (cicada 2.25x1.25x1.25") materials: clay, acrylic paint, wire, reclaimed cellophane, thread, sound recording date: 2021 The cicada's only defense mechanism is sheer numbers.
How Does Your Garden Grow? dimensions: 10"x6"x4" materials: Clay, acrylic paint, wire date: 2021
Paper Tiger dimensions: 7x8x5.5" materials: Clay, paint, wire, recycled cellophane date: 2023 Paper revolutionized the spread of information. Humans learned to make paper from wasps.
If These Walls Could Talk (installation) dimensions: Variable materials: Clay, chalk pastel pigment date: 2021 Peziza domiciliana cup fungus grows on rotten wood, drywall/plasterboard, and plaster in homes, damp cellars, and basements. It is not at all dangerous to humans, instead acting as a sort of canary in a coal mine to let you know that there is a water issue within your walls or floors.
One Man’s Trash dimensions: 8.5x24x14" materials: Clay, wire, wool, paint, glass beads, thread, foil, pastel pigment, ink, gloss glaze date: 2023 (O)possums are the only North American marsupials. Often viewed as dirty and frightening, they are actually quite clean and non-agressive. When threatened, a possum’s body triggers a comatose, death-feigning state, which makes them less appealing to some predators.
Blinded by the Light dimensions: 12x12x14” (plus variable length cord) materials: Clay, paint, wire, flocking, acrylic rods, light bulb & fixture date: 2023 Inspired by porch lights on summer nights. Moths throw themselves against the glass over and over, trying to reach a glowing source that would destroy them in an instant.
Betwixt and Between dimensions: 5x13x7" materials: clay, wire, wool, pastel powder pigment, paint, parafilm date: 2023 Pallid bats play an important role as predators of desert insects. They are also indirect pollinators of several species of cactus, as they visit flowers in their hunt for insects.
Glow Up (daylight view) dimensions: 1.5x6x6" materials: clay, wire, paint, spackle, wheat, spices, fiber date: 2023 The giant desert hairy scorpion is the largest scorpion in North America. The hairs on its many limbs help it to detect vibrations in the soil. Although intimidating looking, it's venom is actually fairly mild (comparable to a bee sting). Like most scorpions, it fluoresces under ultraviolet light.
Glow Up (UV view)
Cross My Heart/Spin Me A Yarn dimensions: Variable (central web 11x12” spider 1.75x1x0.5") materials: thread, clay, wire, paint date: 2023 In 1973, two cross orb weavers - named Arabella and Anita - were sent up in Skylab 3 and became the first spiders to spin webs in space. The eponymous cross marking on a cross orb weaver’s abdomen is situated right above the heart.
Cross My Heart (spider detail)
Foxfire (daylight view) dimensions: 2.5x12x6.5" materials: clay, paint, glow-in-the-dark pigment date: 2023 “Foxfire” or “fairy fire” is the glow emanating from bioluminescent fungi. Panellus stripticus is believed to be one of the brightest bioluminescent mushrooms in the word. The first known recorded observation of glowing fungi was from Aristotle, who wondered at the "cold fire" that sometimes emanated from rotting wood in the forest.
Foxfire (dark view)
Illuminated Manuscript dimensions: 10.5"x10.5"x2.5" materials: Clay, acrylics, toner transfer from text from "Permanence and Durability of Paper: An Annotated Bibliography of the Technical Literature from 1885 A.D. to 1939 A.D." date: 2021 I am a lover of books. A damaged book always provokes grief in me, and to dog-ear a page would feel like sacrilege. Yet I am compelled by the delicate, lace-like creations of silverfish as they consume paper and ink.
“(de)composed/nocturne” Exhibition Proposal
Artist statement
As a disabled queer woman, I am drawn to things that are cast off or othered, to beauty that is ignored or needs to be unearthed. I grappled with shame, guilt, and fear for a long time before I understood how these positionalities inform my life and work, and accepted that presenting these small beauties is its own radical act. I want to invite people to push past their discomfort and look closer.
Often when something has “gone bad,” it gives rise to something new, but it can be hard to appreciate new growth in the shadow of disappointment. I like the idea of spending hours meticulously crafting something that most people think of as ruined, like a slice of moldy bread or a bouquet crawling with insects. The works are made with a self-imposed rule that every element must be created: every rock, popsicle stick, and bean sprout is painstakingly sculpted and detailed by hand. This mandate has pushed me to learn new ways of looking at familiar objects, and helped me notice small and often overlooked beauty in the world around me.
This body of work reflects my own journey to reframe my life as a disabled person. I spent a decade only seeing the ways my life hadn’t turned out how I had expected, and seeing those discrepancies as failures. It has only been by widening my lens that I have learned to appreciate the life I do have, and recognize the value in my perspective. I am finally allowing myself to be happy. I hope this work can help encourage others to take a moment to observe, reexamine, and perhaps find some hidden beauty for themselves.
Description of Exhibition
The “(de)composed” portion of the exhibit is intended to be displayed in a traditional white gallery space of aprx. 250-400 sq. feet . It is composed entirely of sculpture: 12 pieces displayed on pedestals, 1 self-supporting piece, 6 installation works integrated into the gallery space, and 1 sequestered multi-media installation.
The pieces in “Nocturne” particularly utilize the interplay of dark and light, including fluorescence, luminescence, and retroreflectiveness. They are intended to be presented in an adjacent dark gallery space of aprx. 100-150 sq. feet (this space could be created with the use of temporary walls/partitions). Dark walls and limited ambient lighting serve as a backdrop, with each piece individually illuminated. Ideally the dark gallery would provide access to white light and UV flashlights to allow visitors to explore specific works and experience the details they reveal under different lighting conditions. “Nocturne” is composed primarily of sculpture: 4 works on pedestals and 3 installation works. There is also a scent-based work in development. All works in both sections are scaled for an intimate viewer experience.
Since (de)composed/Nocturne explores our feelings of discomfort with elements of nature, the dialogue between the pieces and the gallery itself become a part of the work.
Included Works
In the light space:
Microorganized I 4.4x4x0.5 inches; Clay, acrylic paint, flocking, cotton; 2020
Microorganized II 3.5x4x0.5 inches; Clay, acrylic paint, flocking, cotton, chalk pastel pigment; 2021
“Kitchen Garden” 3x5x2.5" Clay, wire, foil, chalk pastel pigment 2021
Lost and Found 2x5x5 inches; Clay, acrylic paint, decoupage medium, spices, wire; 2021
How Does Your Garden Grow? 10x6x4 inches; Clay, acrylic paint, wire; 2021
Formica/Formica 0.5x8x6.25 inches; Clay, mica pigment, acrylic paint, wire, pen, resin, spice; 2022
Irrepressible 4x16x12 inches; Clay, foil, acrylic paint, sealant; 2021
Sweet on You 1x5x3 inches; Clay, chalk pastel pigment, acrylic paint, wire, cellophane, resin; 2021
Putting Down Roots 52x12.5x12.5 inches; Clay, acrylic paint, chalk pastel pigments, wire, sealant, coffee grounds, cotton; 2021
If These Walls Could Talk Dimensions variable; Clay, chalk pastel pigment; 2021
Stuck on You 3x9x9 inches; Clay, acrylic paint; 2021
Climbing the Walls Dimensions variable; Clay, chalk pastel pigment; 2021
The Long and Winding Road Dimensions variable (snail 1x2x0.75 inches); Clay, acrylic paint; 2021
The Thing with Feathers Dimensions variable (pigeon 4x10x4 inches); Clay, acrylic paint, wire, foil armature, sealant; 2021
Home Sweet Home Dimensions variable (installation) Bees are 1x0.5x0.5 inches; Clay, acrylic paint, wire, sealant, cellophane, flocking; 2022
Survival (Screaming Into the Void) Dimensions variable (cicada 2.25x1.25x1.25 inches); Clay, acrylic paint, wire, reclaimed cellophane, thread, sound recording; 2021
Everything (and More) 1.5x3x4 inches; Clay, paint, wire, pigment, recycled cellophane, fibers; 2023
Paper Tiger 7x8x5.5 inches; Clay, paint, wire, recycled cellophane; 2023
Joyous Infestation 14x7x7 inches; Clay, paint, wire, flocking; 2023
The Fates 5x4x3 inches; Clay, wire, paint, pastel pigment, thread; 2023
In the dark space:
Illuminated Manuscript 10.5x10.5x2.5 inches; Clay, acrylics, toner transfer from text from "Permanence and Durability of Paper: An Annotated Bibliography of the Technical Literature from 1885 A.D. to 1939 A.D."; 2021
Foxfire 2.5x12x6.5 inches; Clay, paint, glow-in-the-dark pigment; 2023
One Man’s Trash 8.5x24x14 inches; Clay, wire, wool, paint, glass beads, thread, foil, pastel pigment, ink, gloss glaze; 2023
Glow Up 1.5x6x6 inches; Clay, wire, paint, spackle, wheat, spices, fiber; 2023
Cross My Heart/Spin Me a Yarn Dimensions variable (central web 11x12 inches spider 1.75x1x0.5 inches); Thread, clay, wire, paint; 2023
Betwixt and Between 5x13x7 inches; Clay, wire, wool, pastel powder pigment, paint, parafilm; 2023
Blinded By the Light Dimensions variable (moth radius 12x12x14 inches); Clay, wire, paint, flocking, glass beads, acrylic rods, lightbulb & fixture; 2023
Equipment/Materials Requirements
12 white pedestals
4 black pedestals
1 UV flashlight (with the necessary hardware to tether it to the space)
2 white light flashlights (with the necessary hardware to tether them to the space)
Visitor headphones and sound system
Partition walls or curtains
Spotlights
Walls that can be painted
A wall that can have a ½” hole drilled into it
A ceiling suspension system or a ceiling that can have eye bolts installed (all suspended pieces weigh under 1lb)
Ability to run electricity to one hung piece
Potential Public Programs
Moth Mending Workshop
To help audiences connect further with the exhibit, I will lead a workshop teaching participants how to repair moth holes in sweaters. Much like the Japanese art of kintsugi mends pottery by highlighting the cracks, the approach taken to mending acknowledges and celebrates the journey of the sweater and its role in our complex relationship with the world around us. This will take the form of mending the holes with needle-felted moth patches. (Workshop is appropriate for ages 10 and up. Children should have the supervision of a guardian.)
Equipment/materials requirements for workshop:
Tables
Chairs
Scissors
Felting needles
Felting blocks
Wool roving
Wool felt
Fabric markers
Moth templates
Moth reference photos
“Illuminated Manuscript” Erasure Poetry
“Illuminated Manuscript” explores the way book pages eaten by silverfish change as physical objects. But the meanings within the pages are changed too, as words are eaten away. Taking inspiration from this, visitors will be invited to create erasure poetry by redacting text from a selection of printed pages from diverse sources.
Equipment/materials requirements for workshop:
Tables
Chairs
Craft knives & cutting surfaces
AND/OR
Black chisel edge markers
A variety of printed pages
Artist/Curator Q&A
I enjoy speaking about my work and process, and my favored format for that is a Q&A. I find this setup most conducive to developing an open dialogue, and I feel it encourages audience participation.