Who/what inspires your practice?
Who? My family. I grew up surrounded by creatives who simply just existed in who they were.
A father that loves photography. A musical mother who writes and can make anything with her hands
...Brothers who are amazing musicians and artists. A grandmother who can literally do EVERYTHING and continued her education well into her later years of life.
What? Beauty, life, joy, honesty, and all of the other emotions necessary to exist fully in this world. I approach all of these things using Black hair as a metaphor.
What's your why?
My why is simply my need to create a space for me to heal and exist in complete honesty. Through the act of making, I learn so much about myself and find language for feelings that I once struggled to communicate.
There is so much history and connection in Black hair and with it being the first place my creativity showed itself, I really wanted to hold on to that through out life. Being able to return to source has a way of pulling me out of moments when I feel lost.
How would you describe your practice?
I would describe my practice as a form of personal healing. I create sculptural, abstract wave paintings, installations and performance pieces in this practice as a way to move through feelings and also imagine new realities for myself. My practice requires a lot of improvisation and destruction to really make space for honesty and rawness in the work.
Everything is informed by the textures, history and culture of Black hair and how it connects to me. I see hair as a multidimensional connector through space and time and often expand way beyond that into all the ways my mind can imagine.
How do you sustain your discipline?
I sustain by prioritizing a healthy life balance. This can look like prioritizing my personal health, keeping a consistent studio journal, reading, and making sure I allow the practice to exist beyond the studio and in my everyday life.
A funny, ironic, wild story or time in my studio.
I truly believe that no piece is safe from change until it leaves my studio. Working on a piece and having people come in through out the process to be simultaneously shocked and amazed that something they loved is gone and has been replaced by something else they equally love is really fun for me. I remember being told “I want to love this piece but I can’t even trust that it will be here tomorrow,” is a perfect mindset to have because it’s the honest truth. For me its more about the process over the final product.