Thou shalt explore.

Thou shalt not merely repeat.

Thou shalt vote.

Thou shalt listen closely.

Thou shalt give constructive criticism.

Thou shalt go outside your comfort zone.

Thou shalt lend a helping hand.

Thou shalt drink thy coffee every morn.

Thou shalt finish the books thy starts.

Thou shalt leave a mark in someone's life.

Thou shalt be daring.

Thou shalt learn things unknown to you.

Thou shalt speak the truth.

Thou shalt take days off and to thyself.

Thou shalt fight for freedom and equality.

Thou shalt be mindful of others.

Thou shalt laugh with others.

Thou shalt understand thy privileges and use them to help those without.

Thou shalt show up.

Thou shalt be conscious.*

What do we hold dear and worthy?

We ask ourselves, do fences make good neighbors? Is the grass really greener on the other side?

My work ruminates on our relationships and collaborations with the manufactured and natural landscapes we inhabit. I contemplate the struggles and connections we have with each other and the need to find a place to call our own. In the current climate, politically and environmentally, recent installations like Don’t Fence Me In and Boundings wire landforms, and the collaborative Terra Incognita, ponder the balance between staked territory and collective community. What measures do we take to feel safe? How do we negotiate this world of physical and psychological borders? How do we find our place? And what do we do next?

Often working in multiples, other works employ found objects (jeans, reclaimed textiles, construction materials), I am drawn to their histories and connotations. Shift and Pool, for example, explore the ability to hold onto the (still useful) old and worn, finding new purpose for recycled and reclaimed jeans. We yearn to measure the intangibles of experience. Individual pieces reference individual experiences. When put together, they represent a powerful human collective.

Connection, displacement, tenuous restoration, place, and home. Like my students, my goals are: Go outside. Be daring. Lend a helping hand. Show up. Be conscious and be a good neighbor.

Upcoming research interests include sustainable dye water recycling, zero waste studio practices, social/climate justice sewing and mending, furniture joinery and burial quilts. Like quilts, chairs, tables, and beds are built to support and comfort us. Thematically, my upcoming furniture-informed and quilted sculptures will consider grief, loss, burial rituals, and individual, communal, and environmental needs and survival.

* In response to Gilbert & George’s 10 Commandments, my students and I wrote our own during our first class in Fall 2017. These are my favorites.