September 2021
Materials: Faux leather and fur, poly fill, wood
Dimensions: 31” (H) x 16” (W) x 31” (D)
Soft Stool originated from thinking about things we sit on every day that aren't necessarily chairs, like coolers, buckets, stumps, and toilets. I wanted to use material sensibility from one room in the house and apply it to another. Inspired by looking at historical home trends I chose the materials, textures, and color to evoke nostalgia, warmth, and playfulness.
June- August 2021
Materials: Paracord, vinyl, PVC, stitching, Unistrut, threaded rod, and
Dimensions: 74” (H) x 56.5” (W)
The structure of Net Worth was initially inspired by sporting equipment. Growing up participating in sports, I found a love for expressive sneakers and performance footwear. I created the panels by sewing paracord to a water-soluble stabilizer in the pattern of a warped net. The construction of the panels is reminiscent of soccer goals and practice equipment. The wrapped net pattern is light weight and bright color, evoking flexibility, repetition, and illusion in both craft and sport. They flow.
Net Worth animates space by using generative, textile structures and engineered materials found in performance footwear to enhance fit, durability, and breathability. Minimalist materials and cyan, magenta, and yellow color scheme create a complex, dynamic space to express potentialities. Footwear design and craft continue to evolve with new innovative technologies and knowledge in the field of sports performance, and I’m inspired by new possibilities in the future of design and sport.
March-May 2021
Materials: Vinyl, grommets, stitching
Dimensions: 110” (H) x 101” (W)
The Color Value Curtains began as an exploration of light, shadows, color, and movement. Inspired by CMYK color model, stained glass, quilting techniques, and the improvisation and materiality of theater and costuming, the curtains use bold vinyl fabric to transform a space when they interact with light. I try to treat plastic the way we (should) treat other precious resources. The curtains change during the day based on the sunlight, wind, and precipitation. The curtains progressed into a study of fluid spaces that suggest play while examining privacy. I was considering translucency through both physical material characteristics and trough a conceptual context (“pulling back the curtain”). What does it mean to be transparent? What do the spaces we inhabit communicate? Why does it feel like there is always a filter on transparency? These curtains are meant to become a physical representation of that filter.
From a distance, Color Value Curtains seem simple in pattern, color, and installation. But through closer examination, details of darting, thread color, patterning, and site-specificity reveal complexity and precision. They are meant to be easily digestible and invite on the surface by encouraging interactions of a physical filter and flamboyant light effects while creating a space of mutability and intervention.
January- February 2021
Materials: silicone aquarium tube, galvanized steel
Dimensions: 48” (H) x 96” (W) x 96”(D)
Photography: Rob Crossno
I wanted to experiment building spaces with textile processes to create movement, flexibility, and explore shadows and lighting possibilities. I knit silicone aquarium tubes into a large material and draped it through a rigid rectangular prism. The knit silicone is heavy and is attached to the steel structure with transparent zip ties. The knit is formable, durable, and translucent with a blue and greenish hue dependent on the sunlight and time of day. The structure is built from threaded galvanized steel pipes and fittings. The pliability of the knit, fasteners, and threaded pipes allow it to be assemble and installed in different configurations.
I built this piece to be installed outdoors to interact with the natural light, precipitation, and extreme temperatures. In bright light the shadows are dramatic but calming, like those created by water. The transparency of the knit and organic shadows on the snow creates a serene mood. I chose to install in the 5D courtyard on the campus of Cranbrook’s Academy of Art because it’s heavily trafficked and people would encounter it without having to seek it out.
November- December 2020
Materials: Digital print on cotton fabric, polyester fiber fill, vinyl
Dimensions: 96'' (H) x 72'' (W) x 72''(D)
The stuffed shapes materialized from a doodle. I wanted to translate this repetitive and meditative process of drawing into a space. These free-form blobs have nesting and stackable qualities but aren’t rigid and don’t have a set system. The shapes don’t take the form of anything specific and unintentionally become reminiscent of animals, objects, and people—reminiscent of clouds. These can be used as seating, floor cushions, play areas, and anything the viewer can dream up. They have weight to them but are not too heavy to be moved and stacked.
The cloud pattern is a digital repetition I created from a photograph of clouds from the Alvord desert in southeastern Oregon—a magnificent, deserted, oasis. I wanted the cloud graphic to be photo-real to speculate the intersection of physical and digital spaces to bring both the effects of an all-encompassing digital environment and a captivation vis-a-vis natural environments into an indoor space.
The cloud imagery was inspired by the symbolic significance of clouds in historical paintings from the renaissance of infinite clouds and pop culture connections like “happy clouds” from Bob Ross painting, and the ever-present use of cloud imagery in fashion and technology. The cloud imagery manifests mixed emotions through feelings of otherworldliness, dreariness, and whimsy.
October 2020
Materials: cotton, polyester fabric, chopped foam
Dimensions: 5'' (H) x 115'' (W) x 36''(D)
I’m interested in how things are assembled and connected in simple, adjustable, and customizable ways. This allows the forms to adapt to different spaces, activities, and needs. It can be interactive and create a sense of ownership and creativity, or it can be assembled in a more traditionally functional arrangement. I want to create objects and spaces that are less prescriptive in their function and encourage interaction with the piece itself or with others while using it.
The textile is created through patchwork, a labor-intensive production process while utilizing efficient, simple, and abstract patterning. This traditional craft method of making employs an economical and industrial material usage and patterning sensibility. The square pattern was used to obscure the forms of the objects, give depth through color and contrasting matte and metallic finish, clash a rigid pattern with fluid forms, and be flamboyant and expressive through intricacy and detail. The square pattern is reminiscent of pixels in technology, offering a whimsical retro aesthetic. I’m interested in using pattern and color to transform and camouflage forms. I want to create playful objects that are just as fun to use as they are to look at. I find satisfaction in repetition in both the making process and within the patterns and objects themselves.
2017- Present
Dimensions: 16in (H) x 9in (W) x 6in (D)
BEARS 3- Tie-dye Bears 2020
Medium: velvet, polyester fiber fill
BEARS 2- Dinosaur Jear 2019
Medium: denim, polyester fiber fill
BEARS 1- Fruit Bears 2017
Medium: color pencil drawings, sublimation on fabric, polyester fiber fill
Brightly colored with bold fruit surface prints, these plush gummy bears were created through several labor-intensive processes. I created the pattern pieces of the bear based on a classic silhouette of a gummy bear. The fruit imagery is hyper-realistic and drawn in colored pencil. I scanned the drawings and then sublimated them onto a fuzzy fabric and assembled them into gummy bears.
Objects are the sum of many parts; these intricacies are often masked by the perfection of mass production. Even though the bears utilize the same pattern pieces the amount of stuffing and stretch of the fabric creates distinct features on each bear. The prints on the surface of the bears create a camouflage, making the bears feel as if they are all one surface. When a hyper-realistic drawing is taken out of the context people often assume it’s produced by a photograph. We often simplify the depth of an object. Over time the understanding of function and origin is lost.
2019
Materials: Fabric, bean bag beads, paracord
Dimensions: 12in (H) x 72in (W) x 29in (D)
I sewed nylon tubes, filled them with bean bag beads, and wove them together with paracord. These woven baskets amalgamate the traditional weaving process, the color bright pink, and commodity materials, to provide a sensation both familiar and strange. The connected baskets take on the shape reminiscent of seating.
2019
Materials: Silicone, resin, epoxy, dye
Dimensions: 11.25in (H) 4.5in (W) x 1in (D)
The hammers are cast from plastic, a material commonly used to manufacture toys. This destroys any conception we hold of their use by taking an object we associate with work and melding it with play.
2016-2019
Materials: Faux fur, poly fiber fill, ribbon, Velcro
Dimensions: 10in (H) x 87in (W) x 53in (D)
Photography: Sarah Kue
The fabric and colors used in Patchwork are optimized through the use of equilateral triangles and a color palette inspired by the CMYK color model. The color scheme used in patchwork is the four basic colors used in printing, advertising and packaging. C (cyan) M (magenta) Y (yellow) K (key) are the four main colors used to print images. The CMYK is a subtractive printing process and works through masking light.
Although soft and comforting, its bright colors and furry textures are seductive. The small patchwork pieces make up a larger plushie pyramid object. The pyramids are assembled together with Velcro so it can be adjusted and folded into different spaces. The colors and simple shapes of the patchwork embody and doing more with less.
2019
Materials: Pool noodles, tubing, shower curtain rings
Dimensions: 156in (H) x 48in (W) x 2.25in (D)
Plumbing material and shower curtain ring hardware are interconnected with foamy, frivolous toys. When the pieces are interconnected, the playful and fun pool toys become elevated.
When the piece is in water it floats and flows, when it’s hanging it is able to pivot and hinge. Versatility is all around us even when form seems to dictate usage.
2015 - Present
Materials: Mylar solar shields
Dimensions: Varying depending on location of installation, about 84in (H) x 72in (W) x 30in (D)
All we see when we look into any space is the light reflected back at us. This piece seeks to manipulate this understanding. The strands of mylar solar shields are layered and stacked and look as if they are growing, the pink lights give the piece different dimensions and the mylar reflects the light into corners.