In collaboration with Marissa White DiGirolamo & Nicholas Thornburg, Flower Power is a massive flower installation inside Work Release in Norfolk, VA. This collaboration was inspired by the iconic photograph "Flower Power" by Bernie Boston in 1967. The image depicts an activist placing a flower into the barrel of a soldier's fun. It is a powerful image to see these naturally separated entities joined together in an effort of peace. A flower, which grows from earth and a gun; a machine designed by man to protect or take life are shown for a singular moment as interactive and playful.
This installation explores the language of domesticity with sugary sweet smells of childhood. The image in the center of the mosaic belongs to the artist as she peers out at us. The work responds to the traditional female roles that society has assigned to women and how a new generation is walking away from them. The ‘vision’ of the American dream once included motherhood, building a family, buying a house and making it a home. Seemingly idyllic, those times also raise questions about the inequality of women and their values outside of those roles. Feminism throughout history has been a platform for challenging the norm, exploring the self and leveling the social status of the sexes. It is the artist’s intent to continue those sweet explorations.
Inspired by "Homage to the Square" series by the painter Josef Albers, I have collected and arranged dead stock velvet ribbon to create colorful squares that portray a touchable canvas of complimentary tones.
Josef Albers' exploration and playfulness in color theory exposed new ways of seeing color as a medium that influenced art and textile industries of that era. Color palettes born during that time are still used widely today as the basis of many artists and designers' projects.
The unique colors of these 1960's vintage ribbon may not have existed today without the influence of Albers' research.
The Japanese art of Kintsugi offers a philosophy not of replacement, but of reverence and restoration. Using broken shards of many plates to create new objects symbolizes my deconstruction of the American dream. Without the pressure of connecting to any one version of womanhood, I can take pieces of them all to formulate a new life for myself.
Soft Pink is a confectionary colored photo exploration of creative womanhood in the 21st century. Stylized dreamily, referential of the shadows our skin and lips leave as we go about our days with radical softness. Questioning our roles, breaking down the colonization of our minds and being active in our communities; we leave imprints of ourselves for the future.
Giant printouts of flowers, leaves and petals decorated this abandoned storefront for several months... allowing for adorable selfies in an underdeveloped area of the city. This strip of Granby Street is part of Norfolk, Va's blooming new Arts District. Passerbys would take a photo in front of the mural and use the hashtag #NEONpetalportrait
Interest in floriography soared in Victorian England and in the United States during the 19th century. Gifts of blooms, plants, and specific floral arrangements were used to send a coded message to the recipient, allowing the sender to express feelings which could not be spoken aloud in Victorian society.
Letter 1
Dearest pure and lovely,
Thinking of you and your loyal love reminds me of your worth and how it is beyond beauty. You are always cheerful and your hears is rich in modesty. Illl never speak of your loyalty and innocence. The pureness of your heart will always be followed by my own. Thinking of you
Let us prosper and take a chance on happiness.
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Letter 2
To she who does not know her own beauty.. Thoughts of pretty love and affection. Thank you for understanding my distrust. Your pride and haughtiness are childish. Your wealth, a cause of malevolent attitude. I think of it as a crime. Sorry and regret..
This heart has grown cold.
Candy colored glass is cut piece by piece, coated and soldered together to form a fragmented frozen moment that aligns with my senses of earth magic. The use of mirrors encourages the viewer to imagine its movement from one dimension to the next.. echoing the mysterious energy that surges through us when we create.
