Artist Statement

We are often told that "less is more" and to "leave something to be desired". Ideas like these are applied to a variety of things in life, but they also extend to how we express ourselves and our emotions, and therefore extend to how we are supposed to engage with the people around us. We are often told to smile, to not show our anger, and to only cry in private. We are conditioned to think that those of us who are emotional are somehow less than; the label only comes with negative connotations and is often applied to women. I believe people should be allowed to express their emotions without fear of rejection or being seen as a pariah.

When people are faced with an emotional individual they often attempt to offer up small gestures of comfort, such as a tissue, or an apology for what they are going through. However, those gestures are conditioned responses and intended to dig as deep as a "how are you?" in casual conversation. What happens when we really get to the root of someone's sadness and attempt to supply comfort? What happens when we allow others to exist that way without the expectation of them keeping it bottled up inside or immediately acting better?

The work contains my empathy and seeks to comfort others in the ways I know how beyond words. It references what I reach for in order to cheer myself up and the items I extend to those I care about when they are sad. Through the use of weather-based imagery, I am able to get my point further across; the accessibility extends it out to everyone. The stormy surfaces hint to something more somber with the hopes of lessening your burden or the opportunity to simply sit with your feelings in solace. This work simultaneously comforts myself through the act of making and, for others, it exists to extend comfort even without my physical presence. With this work I am putting my emotional state at the forefront and confronting you with it or inviting you to sit in on it with me.