I have always been drawn to an aesthetic that I refer to as a "deterioration of
beauty". The media I work with lend themselves to this design. My prints,
either on clay or on fabric, take on the attributes of a badly-printed, and very
old tin can label as in my Flesh installation. My recent work uses clay slip to
create a texture that is sensual and confectionary while I use clay's plasticity
to soften a sharp edge and blur its proportions. Handling the media in this
way moves the object into a soft, surreal, and sometimes creepy, reality.

The concepts in my work are always based on my own experiences.
Sometimes the manifestation of these experiences surprises me. For
example, in my recent saint series I determined that because I never grew
up in the Catholic Church and I did not have experience with Catholic
tradition I had moved away from the autobiographical. It was only when I did
more writing about the piece that I realized I was representing myself in the
dress model figure and describing my own perceived martyrdom. Not all of
my subject matter is as weighty but it is all very personal.

Humor has recently become a standard element in my art. After completing
graduate school I felt I had the freedom to be more sarcastic and playful
with my work. I can amuse the viewer with the absurdity of the object or
image while making very poignant commentaries about serious issues such
as emotional exploration or social criticism. I have also found that humor
allows me to discuss more painful events in my life without feeling that I am
whining or boring the audience.

The aesthetic of my work makes it easily identifiable as my own while giving
me freedom to explore other more complicated issues about myself and
my environment.