Angela Engelson Memorial Scholarship for Women Artists

Comparing every endeavor I have ever pursued, no experience has been more joyful than the honest and easy practice of creating art. When I say easy, I don’t mean to suggest that art doesn’t require dedication and practice: instead, it’s quite the opposite. What I mean to say, is that despite the long hours of work and time I continue to invest in art making, I continue to be inspired and fulfilled by the act of creating. Producing a finalized artwork is difficult and requires care, but inspiration exists in everything around me. The choice to sit down and simply create has been the easiest decision of my life. Within my practice, much of my work explores how the subconscious can be personified and connected to our daily physical experiences. Feelings, thoughts, and emotions are intangible and often feel indescribable. We self-define ourselves internally, but our physical presence, actions, bodies, and words are what create our communities and relationships. Translations of our subconscious experiences are how we relate to everything and everyone around us, and it’s this idea that I investigate through my work. Creating art is the most honest thing I do. When I sit down to create a piece, I work based off of my own internal thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the world. Each piece is a representative view of everything I was feeling in the moment of working. Through my art, I have been able to relate to others and create relationships like nothing else. I paint what I feel, often using the human figure and comparisons to nature to connect abstract subconscious feelings to physical reality. I’ve found that thoughts I assumed were absurd and impossible to describe can actually be expressed through painting and art making. Through discussion of my paintings and work, I’ve been able to relate to others in ways I never would have thought possible. I have created art my entire life, and I cannot imagine pursuing anything else for a career. In my heart and mind, nothing is more valuable than the ability to understand and relate to another individual. Art being such a powerful tool that allows me to do so, I truly think it would be a disservice to myself and the world I did not try my hardest to make creating my life’s work. I dream of traveling and meeting people from all around the world as I build my practice. Through this journey, I believe that art could become a powerful tool for change, mutual understanding, reflection, and the recognition of the inner worlds that exist within us all.