PHASES

Synchronizing The Process

Her most recent series was created during meditating outdoors. While listening to
birds in meditation, she made lines and colors behind her eyes. This led to the ‘Wake
Up’ series. She currently works and resides in Charlotte, NC. Her art studio can be found at The
VAPA Center has located in uptown Charlotte.

Below is the explanation behind every series in Phases with Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery.

WAKE UP

This series came about while meditating outside. During meditation, I was reacting to birds singing and making colors and lines behind my eyes. It was magical, and I did my best to replicate the experience.

EB AND FLOW

During the MFA program with The School of Arts Institute of Chicago, I was determined to get rid of the paintbrush. The materials sued to move and create the composition are modeling paste, pigment, and just sheer energy. This series inspired me to play with sculpture.

SUSTAINED

This series was a bit impulsive, it was a trial and error that became its own series. The Wake Up series has roughly 50 sketches. While using the sketches as a reference, the paint application brought this sustained moment. The painting no longer needed work or paint, it was fine on its own. Sometimes the process is where we can find stability rather than the end result.

FIGURE IT OUT

This series is just that. While working on multiple paintings, and still trying to find my mark. This series started as a study and became the style I have wanted to create for quite some time.

NEVER ENDING STUDIES

Hopefully, the title is self-explanatory.

Now and then, the study for a larger painting or concept still stands tall. Please, it is excellent watching the thought process behind the artist.

REPRESSION

Growing up, I faced many challenges with my family's various addictions. Shopping, hoarding, nonfunctioning alcoholism, gambling, and smoking were well-known terms in the house. These addictions often lead to mistrust and neglect. The Repression series illustrates the festering frustration that comes from years of silence. The figures represent the shadows that keep us quiet and put us down while telling us to take another drink.

DENOUNCE

TRIGGER WARNING

This series mentions sexual assault.

The composition was created by writing the names of the men who attacked and sexually assaulted me. The layering of lines makes positive and negative shapes, thus giving the pieces an abstract expressionist aesthetic. Through this artistic process, I literally drew, wrote, dragged, ripped, scraped, smeared, and scrubbed the names until I almost forgot how to spell them. This process led to physical and mental exhaustion with shaking tears, creating a hauntingly beautiful piece. This release took years even to attempt to discuss in ‘talk (CBT Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) therapy.’ This is where I truly believe in the power of Art Therapy.

The 3rd painting of this series can be found at the Charlotte Art League in Charlotte, NC. The exhibitions Unbound curated by Meridith Connelly, will be on display from April 7th to April 30th, 2023.