Artist Statement
My artistic practice addresses engendered spaces with crafted femininity in sculpture. Raised in a conservative Midwestern home, I was taught specific cultural norms of politeness, insignificance, and internalized sexism from a young age. Growing up with learned social anxiety, I refrained from expressing myself in fear of being ostracized. Art became an outlet to explore my own identity, and I became enamored with creating sculpture because of its similarity to processes I learned in childhood.
I use themes of stereotypical feminine crafts in harsh environments and focus on meticulous repetitions of techniques to illustrate personal experiences of “women’s work,” a derogatory term for female engendered objects, themes, and roles. With mixed media interpretations, my laborious processes of art-making becomes my own form of humanitarianism that aims to rectify experienced social issues and embody personal understanding through representation, empowerment, and progress.