SVS Arts

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

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Inspiration:

"The Squid Man", Woo Jin Joo

https://www.woojinstudio.com/-water-deities

"It's Such a Beautiful Day", Don Hertzfeldt

"Apollo 18", John Flansburgh

Sketches:

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Surface Pattern

Research:

"Sea of Trees", Kosuke Ajiro

https://theshopfloorproject.com/collections/kosuke-ajiro/products/sea-of-trees-limited-edition-print

"The Lady and the Unicorn", The Master of Anne of Brittany

https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/collection/the-lady-and-the-unicorn.html

"Nature's Eye", Vikki Yeates

http://www.vikkiyeatesillustration.co.uk/store/product/natures-eye-a4-print

"Lookaftering", Whyn Lewis

http://www.whynlewis.com/whynlewis.com/Featured_Paintings.html

Concept Sketches:

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

A Natural History of The Senses Relief Sculpture

The Corruption of Culture

28” x 24” x 2”

Full, Straight On

Full, Angle 1

Full, Angle 2

Detail #1

Detail #2

Artist’s Statement

This piece explores the ideas of change and whitewashing via the chapters ‘Animals’ (Vision) and ‘In Praise of Vanilla’ within A Natural History of The Senses.

My work depicts a traditional Chinese screen being drowned in white paint, spotted peppered moths sitting atop it. The spotted peppered moth is highlighted within the ‘Animals’ chapter, as this moth’s color has changed in order to adapt to a highly industrialized society. By including these moths as symbols for change, I intended to depict the increased whitewashing and minimalism of present day art/design. Through minimalism, culture is erased, just as through industrialization, white moths turn black. The ‘In Praise of Vanilla’ chapter prompted me to make this piece, despite limited correlation. The title on its own allowed me to interpret “vanilla” as plain, and reminded me that plainness is often valued in high society.

This idea is important to consider, as minimalism has the capacity to erase both past and present culture. Without culture, there is no uniqueness within society. There is no impact within art. There is nothing to remind ourselves of our history.

Inspiration #1

(Artist unknown)

https://www.maisonnurita.com/products/a-magnificent-antique-chinese-screen

Inspiration #2

Allyson Reynolds

http://allysonreynolds.com/moths-metamorphosis-new-paintings-2020/moths-metamorphosis-3

Inspiration #3

Fred Wilson

https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.artnet.com/art-world/fred-wilson-structures-1329869/amp-page

Memento

The Elepecker

Plastic, teal wool, green wool

5” x 5” x 2”

Full, Angle 1

Full, Angle 2

Artist’s Statement

This work represents a fond memory of creating origami creatures called “elepeckers” with my childhood best friend. He always loved origami. He would create many different creatures and objects using the bright red construction paper that his parents brought home one day. My favorites were the elepeckers, which were really just half finished origami cranes that were turned sideways. We would play with them at recess, making them eat berries off trees. The red, 3D printed plastic body is intended to capture the red paper that we would use to construct these creatures. Balance, symmetry, line and geometric form mimic the harsh creases of the paper. The felted berry within the elepecker’s mouth balances out the rigid body, adding a softer texture to the piece and making it appear more lighthearted. Emphasis on this berry makes the playful elements of the piece stand out, giving it a more positive aura.

In-process Image 1

In-process Image 2

Inspiration #1

Azikiwe Mohammed

https://www.transformerdc.org/azikiwe-mohammed

Inspiration #2

Jeff Koons

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/jeff-koons-michel-bernardaud-interview-porcelain-balloon-dog-1234610045/amp/

Inspiration #3

Joseph Weiner (my close friend and the original creator of the elepecker)

https://instagram.com/joseph.wnr?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

On Longing

“The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale.”

In this picture, you can see fifteen year old me standing next to my dad. At this point in my life, I had been completely consumed by an eating disorder. Not only does my dad dwarf me in comparison, but so does my denim jacket, which I would always wear. I felt large by appearing small. I later lost this jacket, which, in my eyes, marked the end of ceaseless tumult and starvation. I had moved on. Looking at this picture and seeing that jacket allows me to happily reminisce on how I overcame such a profound struggle.

“The souvenir speaks to a context of origin through a language of longing, for it is not an object arising out of need or use value.”

These pictures are of me and my boyfriend replicating a scene from one of our favorite movies. They were taken at a photo booth inside the bowling alley where our close friends celebrated their move from Florida to Alabama. Not only do I miss those friends dearly, I miss my boyfriend while I’m away at college. These pictures hang on my wall, reminding me of those that I care about most.

The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the three-dimensional into miniature — that which can be enveloped by the body.”

Here, I am standing at one of the earliest Black Lives Matter protests, outside Derek Chauvin’s Florida home. I hand painted the sign myself, and toted it around in order to support the cause. I attempted to capture a level of grittiness and pain that most protest signs are unable to articulate, and yet, I still ended up reducing a grand scaled issue into a smaller message that viewers could take in. In no way could I ever encapsulate the struggles that countless endure into one art piece. Still, I tried.

“To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess both a specimen and a trophy.”

This is a picture of a taxidermy, albino raccoon, inside what was once Wolf’s Museum. I’m an oddity/taxidermy collector and raccoon enthusiast, so seeing this put a smile on my face. It’s a shame that Wolf’s burned down. Serving as both a scientific specimen and a work of art, I feel that this piece clearly represents the concept cited above.

“The place of origin must remain unavailable in order for desire to be generated.”

This photo is of me and my parents in our old home. It represents my longing for the youth, environment, and stability that I can no longer return to. Things are much harder now, and I’d give anything to go back to this time.

Experimental Sculpture Collection

All Sculptures

Tent One

Wire, masking tape, gel medium, acrylic paint

13” x 10” x 13”

Sculpture #1, Full, Angle 1

Sculpture #1, Full, Angle 2

Sculpture #1, Full, Angle 3

Sculpture #1, Detail

Tent Two

Wire , masking tape, gel medium, acrylic paint, hot glue, tracing paper

11” x 14” x 12”

Sculpture #2, Full, Angle 1

Sculpture #2, Full, Angle 2

Sculpture #2, Full, Angle 3

Sculpture #2, Detail

Tent Three

Wire , masking tape, gel medium, acrylic paint, hot glue, tracing paper

10” x 10” x 18”

Sculpture #3, Full, Angle 1

Sculpture #3, Full, Angle 2

Sculpture #3, Full, Angle 3

Sculpture #3, Detail

Reflection Statement

My Tent series was primarily inspired by the works of Tim Burton, as he has been one of my largest creative influences ever since I was a child. My intent is to convey childlike whimsy along with visceral spookiness.

I wanted to focus on creating new and unique forms while still maintaining the general shape of circus tents, as to further emphasize the idea of altered reality. I decided to use fluorescent pink as an accent color, as it would set my work aside from the source material. It allows for my piece to seem playful, set difficult to look at. I struggled to make these works appear more as works of art rather than craft, due to the materials that I was given to work with. For this reason, I leaned into the sloppier elements of this work, adding stringy blobs of hot glue that made it appear more fleshy and organic in nature.

I intend to keep exploring the ways in which I can uniquely communicate jovial yet dark absurdism within my works. I want to learn more about my own art style, and how I can separate my work more clearly from that of those who inspire me most. This piece allowed me to explore mediums that were previously unfamiliar to me. The making of these sculptures has exposed me to the idea that one oftentimes must experiment in order to create truly successful works of art.

Inspiration #1