Artist Statement

As a textiles artist, creating utilitarian items that are decorative represents the importance of my hand in people’s daily lives. Keen with identity, my work presents moments of vulnerability and leisure as private home items are revamped. I collect various disregarded fabric blends that are then cut and pieced together, transforming them while producing less waste. I make functional art pieces using color as a way to invoke feelings through proximity playing off the reality of gentrification.

My use of patterns in solid areas show the impact of redlined communities and examine the current effects of historical maps. Lower income communities are intentionally separated from necessary resources to push them from their land. Existing disrupted lands are represented through my take on collaging small cuts of fabric together, while oppressive systems make new pathways with traditional quilting methods. The meaning of home is personified and expressed through mixing curtains, home decor and nonfunctional clothing items. The fabrics I source correlate to different cultures and histories, but when combined theycreate unity and demonstrate a new strength than in its last form.

Kansas City's history of color-coded redlined maps that discriminate influences the necessity to make oneness through proximity. J.C. Nichols founded suburbs and created these maps that determined the value of communities for more than 230 cities across the U.S that racially divided neighborhoods. This psychological effect of time and division are exploredthrough bringing back value to disregarded fabrics while urban decay is a lasting outcome.Without always looking for a direct answer, I use a playful take on incorporating vivid colors andrepetitive techniques that add to the experience of touch that affect memory, mood and comfort level.