Year in Review 2023

This year I have taken several strides forward into what I consider my professional career as an artist. I took steps like creating my portfolio website, participating and curating a group show with my peers, and taking an internship this summer with Manifest Gallery, as well as an Art History research assistant role with Dr. Chris Platts.

An experience that I'd like to highlight from this past year is the group show that I participated in in December. It was part of a class called Sophomore Research Studio where the objective was to identify a topic of interest, and do extensive research on that topic to create a body of work that responds to that topic in a sophisticated way. This class was instrumental in developing a thought process for creating art and writing about my art in a way that is both conceptually sound, as well as thorough and clear to the audience.

During this class, I went through a lot of ideas and iterations of those ideas to land on something that felt right. I had a whole semester to create this body of work, so extra time and care was put into the development which paid off. I had the chance to develop these lofty ideas that I was having about time, space, relationships, and sentimentality. Through my research I justified my thoughts using cultural trends and the context of art history. This was the most well rounded art making experience I have had, and set the foundation that I needed to create truly sophisticated and special artwork. Since then, I have felt enlivened in the process of research, and desire to know more and diversify my interests so that I can make art that is rooted in truth.

One of my biggest goals is to be able to show in galleries and museums across the country and the world. At the end of Sophomore Research Studio we curated our own show with everyone's pieces, and I got to know about how the gallery environment works on a small scale. Now that I an interning with Manifest Gallery, I am discovering this on a larger scale, and can't wait to apply what I am learning to my professional practice.

Year in Review 2022

I’ve grown a lot in this past year a lot, both through my experiences on and off campus. Before this year, I felt a lack of purpose and direction. I had a lot of support and was successful in a lot of ways, but most of the things that I was doing did not feel fulfilling in the ways that I wanted them to. Also, because of the pandemic, these important past few years of my life were a lot different than I thought they would be, and that was surprising and confusing. I felt powerless to change how I was feeling by making the changes that needed to be made; either because I was used to relying on others to make decisions for me, or I felt too unsure in my own decisions to make dramatic changes in my life.

This year, through my classes and through my deeper exploration of the world and myself, I grew to have an increased sense of independence and confidence to autonomously direct my life to the purpose that most fulfills me. Just this past year, being in the Fine Arts program at DAAP, having traveled to art museums and galleries in New York City and Nashville, and finding new job opportunities that take me out of my comfort zone, I have come into contact with so many important influences. I am so inspired by the people that I have met and the lives that they lead, which leads me to really think about the kind of person that I want to be, and reach out for goals which support that. Also, the experience of being in college for the first year and having so many more responsibilities and more control has given me the confidence to make important decisions. Overall, this year has helped me grow into a far more intentional, purposeful, and ambitious artist.