Awards
"We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are."
Oprah Winfrey
Title: Desmond, 2020
Featured artist in Phi Delta Kappa's (PDK) education journal, Kappan 2021
Bruce Museum iCreate Juried Exhibitionist 20
2021 Connecticut Scholastic Art Award - Gold Medalist
2021 Showcase Selection for NAHS/NJAHS Juried Exhibition
Medium: Alcohol ink on mylar
Concept: This portrait of a fellow Hotchkiss student expresses the conflict he felt to conform to the social expectations of how to act around individuals of the opposite gender as a heterosexual male versus enjoying the company of people regardless of how they identify.
Bluebirds, symbolic of joy and freedom, contrast with the constraining nature of social pressure represented by the gripping hands around Desmond’s neck. I chose to use alcohol ink in this piece because, by nature, its fluidity allows the ink to spread freely outward, yet it is bound by the edges of the mylar; just as Desmond has the natural desire to be free in his actions, he is bound by social views. The use of complementary colors, blue and orange, symbolizes the conflict of being free.
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Title: The Mockingbird
2020 Showcase Selection for NAHS/NJAHS Juried Exhibition
Exhibitor, Shoreline Arts Alliance 2020 Future Voices Exhibition
Medium: Micron on acetate
Artist Statement: I was immediately drawn to Audubon’s Mockingbird print because of the emotion and movement it evoked with lunging snake, and mockingbirds swooping to safety. Next to the print was the copper plate used to reproduce the original image. I was struck by the contradiction of looking at a piece containing such action and feeling only to realize a hundred more could be made exactly like it. Utilizing this concept of manufactured multiplicity versus the natural scenery, I interpreted Audubon’s print image, emphasizing the vitality and authenticity that prints, by nature, cannot duplicate. I made a three-dimensional model and hung five acetate sheets to bring the image to life, by pushing forward deliberate elements of the scene on each sheet. Through the loose linework created by blind and semi-blind contours, I sought to convey the idea of how in reality things in life, like animal survival, are not perfect and controlled; they are messy but authentic.
Title: The Awakening
2018 Connecticut Scholastic Art Award - Silver Medalist
Medium: Watercolor triptych on Stonehenge paper
This identity triptych portrays the growth and transition from the inner conflict of wanting to feel safe and comfortable with what one already knows, to the inherent curiosity and natural desire to grow beyond those bounds. In these portraits, I experimented with watercolor for the first time and strived to use color, shading, and symbolism to express the feelings of limit, restriction, and stagnation, as well as the freedom of growth, expansion, and life.
Title: Carpe Diem, 2019
Connecticut Scholastic Art Award, Silver Medalist - Identity Portrait
Medium: Acrylic on raw canvas
Artist Statement: This identity portrait mimics Gustav Klimt’s The Dancer, and illustrates the alluring nature of taking the path towards the familiar versus exploring the opportunities of the unknown, and utilizes symbolism to express the transformation from uncertainty to clarity and growth. Using a palette knife to achieve a more spontaneous effect, I chose to engage in the immediate process of rendering my portrait quickly and intentionally, unhindered by my careful and perfectionistic tendencies and left the bottom unfinished, symbolic of my life as an evolving journey.
The green-blue background symbolizes stability and reliability, and transitions into a clear blue indicating freedom, clarity, and self-expression. Cherry blossoms, roses, and butterflies are symbolic of transformation, inner security, and confidence.
I have learned life is about new experiences, opportunities, and adventures, and in order to truly experience and achieve my greatest potential, I must choose to not be afraid, to step outside of the familiar, and to experience my life with curiosity and be okay with the fact that I do not know what my future holds.