REAL Final Artist Statement

             When creating a work of art I like to portray any strong emotions I am feeling at that particular moment. These days, between all my academic and job responsibilities, and trying to figure out what I am going to do or what I need to get done for the future, I feel trapped. So my recent work tends to project this feeling. Making art helps me cope, escape from reality, and allows me to express what I am feeling. Aesthetically, pieces that include movement, nature, and warped imagery are more appealing to me, so I tend to use them in my work.

One series of abstract drawings I’ve done portrays this best. Each of them are a charcoal drawing that depicts a twisted and warped figure, composed of jagged lines, surrounded by a dark areas moving towards an area of light. As the figure gets closer to the light, parts of the figure branch off and point towards it, but they are smaller.  I've made three images with this type of composition, but each is constructed differently.  The idea behind these pieces was trying to escape all of the stress I had been encountering, and trying to figure out the right path to travel. The figure bends and moves in different directions to represent how hard it is to choose which path to take in life.

My work is expressionistic, so I feel my pieces are not only beneficial to me, but others who feel trapped in their environment. When I do this I hope it goes beyond being personally therapeutic and becomes more archetypal.