The common thread in my work relates to revealing what is hidden by obscuring the familiar. Inspired by Argentine Los Gallegos children's fabrics from the 1970s - 1990s, my current practice explores whimsical duck motifs to portray complex dynamics between the self-soothing comforts of innocence and resistant frustrations surrounding intergenerational infantilization and overprotected upbringings, specifically surrounding how gendered indoctrination influences girlhood. The literal representation of cuteness in my work aims to illustrate how infantilization can simultaneously be a suffocating oppression tied to purity culture as well as an alleviating act, disrupting adulthood's high stakes. My approach is to find meaningful truth in not taking myself so seriously. 

     I use scale to hyperbolize the monstrosity of nursery rhyme tropes. Layers of patterned paper build up in shallow niches in the wall to play between the 2D printed collage and 3D paper sculptures. Shadows between the paper layers further support the hidden-revealed duality. Wide breadths of cacophonous pattern explore ways to immerse the audience in static busyness.  Scale, material and pattern changes create visual hierarchies. Bubbly, relief duck figures interact between the layered paper collage and wall niches broadening the depth of field. Furthermore, fragmented compositions featuring duck-like elements emphasize the deconstruction of childhood nostalgia. 
   Moving forward, I aim to push the narrative of my very baby-core duck characters to express suspenseful mood and psychological turmoil. 

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  The common thread in my work relates to revealing what is hidden. Whether using scale to disguise messages or creating fragmented compositions to investigate degrees of ambiguity, my artistic purpose is to shed light on meaningful, undisclosed topics. Specifically, I aim to address themes surrounding fragmented identity, financial accessibility and environmentalism through the visual, tactile and audible investigations.

          My exigence to create is fueled by how culture, family, AFAB/feminine experiences and belief systems develop one's composite identity. Being ethnically Latina, racially Slavic, United Statesian, Evangelical, and an empirical skeptic, my splintered ideologies wrestle for expressive salience. Overall, I aim to spark conversations about the overlap between interpersonal dynamics and one's sense of self.

          Recognizing the financial connotations associated with the materials chosen to make art fortifies meaningfulness in my practice. Ceramics and glass casting has gifted me with a broad flexibility to build form and render detail. However, these techniques demand extravagantly specialized resources and are often inaccessible. To combat this deficit and make work more frequently, I experiment with textile, paint and found objects. Furthermore, my work often contains satirical representations of luxury and excess, like imitation gold, to confront barriers of wealth.

          Furthermore, the volume of garbage and pollutants I produce when creating art (and in my daily life) has led me to seek more ecologically responsible alternatives. I have become opportunistic and material focused, exploring and collecting common items, ready-mades and recycled material. Incorporating these coincidental finds with first-time-use media allows me to make more sustainably.

          I see art as a mask for sensitive subjects to be showcased gently, providing a poetic advantage over invasively direct discourse. My making process plays with this overt-verses ambiguous dial to learn what approach is impactful yet constructive in addressing nuanced issues of the self, hierarchies of wealth and environmental activism.