My “why” is the world around us. How we, as humans, connect with, shape, and are shaped by our environments. I am deeply motivated by studying the relationships between bodies, spaces, and nature, and how art can both reveal and influence these interactions. My passion lies in exploring how we can improve and transform the world through creative expression, using art as a tool to highlight the dynamic dialogue between people and the natural world. I want to make work that shows the fluid interaction between the human body and nature, capturing moments of tension, harmony, and transformation. This goal is a reflection of my belief that art is a powerful medium for empathy and understanding, allowing us to see ourselves as part of a larger ecosystem rather than isolated individuals. Through painting, sculpture, illustration, and design, I aim to create immersive experiences that invite viewers to reconsider their place in the world and inspire care for the environment and each other. With the rapid advancements in technology such as artificial intelligence, digital art, and automatic writing, artists have more tools than ever before. I see these developments as opportunities to expand the language of storytelling rather than replace the human spirit behind creation. I plan to integrate new technologies thoughtfully, using them to amplify emotional depth and interactivity in my work without losing the essential human perspective. For example, I envision developing a multimedia project, a combination of comic art, animation, and immersive installations, that explores stories of human connection to nature across cultures and histories. This project will blend traditional techniques with digital innovation to create layered narratives that engage audiences on multiple sensory levels. As a student of the arts, I am committed to balancing technological innovation with authentic storytelling, ensuring that the spirit of creation remains grounded in empathy, curiosity, and the desire to make a meaningful impact on the world.

In my practice as an interdisciplinary artist, collaboration is a foundational value. It means creating with and being alongside others. Whether I’m working on a painting, a spatial design, or a public installation, the process is always shaped by relationships, between people, materials, and environments. Collaboration is, and always has been, a dialogue built on trust, respect, and openness. It’s about listening deeply, being present, and honoring the perspectives and stories that others bring into the space. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I learned early that creative work thrives in community. My first collaboration was a mural for my high school, painted directly on bricks and stone with other young artists, classmates, and teachers. That project taught me how art could become a shared language. The mural was not just about the final image or how it looked, it was about the conversations we had while painting, thoughts and feelings we shared during breaks, and the brainstorming sessions that shaped the colors and imagery. The bench and wall we painted became more than a surface, it became a symbol of our connection to the school and to each other. I still go back and visit it sometimes, and recall the fun times I shared with my classmates at that spot, and continue to wonder about what other fun moments have been shared there since. As I’ve continued my education, collaboration has taken on new, and more experimental forms. Many of my most meaningful projects now integrate elements of music, performance, and space. One piece I’m especially proud of used music to create an immersive installation about love and movement across time and places. Working with a fabric and in collaboration with my professor, we translated sound and motion into a physical form that someone could step into, shaping the environment. That experience pushed me to think beyond medium and technique, and to focus on creating an emotional resonance that could only emerge through shared vision. I’m especially drawn to the emotional aspects of collaboration. In a society and world that often rewards individualism, collaborative work reminds me that creating together is an act of connection that is not always appreciated. It requires vulnerability, patience, and the willingness to be changed by the process. These connections are the same ones that help to guide of my work. Collaboration is where I feel most alive as an artist. It is in these shared spaces and ideas, whether a classroom, a gallery, or a city block, that I continue to find inspiration, challenge, and meaning.

My favorite piece is "Rooted Decay", a mixed-media sculpture that reflects the complex relationship between growth and death/impermanence. The piece consists of a plaster mold of my face, held up by a mold of my hand with broken fingers. The hollowed-out face serves as a planter, filled with soil, cacti, and mushrooms I grew myself. I’ve watercolored and added paper to texture the surface and portray a decaying/bruised skin texture, symbolizing the body's fragility. Rooted Decay explores the idea that decay is not something to be feared but an essential part of the cycle of life. The broken fingers and decaying skin reflect loss, but the plants inside the mold represent resilience and the potential for new life to grow from decay. The piece is a personal meditation on how I am constantly changing, evolving, and rooted in both the past and present. It’s a reminder that even in moments of decay, there’s room for new growth and transformation. This work embodies my desire to push boundaries and explore deep themes through my art. I strive to create pieces that reflect not only my journey but also universal experiences, how we connect to life, loss, and growth.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, I've always been drawn to the city’s unique architecture. The mix of modern and historical buildings, and how light plays across them has always been entrancing to me. Each structure evokes emotions, a solid timeless building, like the Carbon and Carbide building, might represent stability while a changing environment, like the expanding neighborhoods, symbolizes impermanence and growth. I’m also deeply inspired by how people move through the city and interact with each other. I observe the small moments. Quiet exchanges and intimate interactions between me and the world around me reflect the complexity of human relationships. These moments hold little stories of their own, which I try to capture in my art. For me, the ordinary moments in daily life are often the most meaningful. A simple scene, like a person walking down a quiet street, or a pigeon taking a nap on the sidewalk can evoke a personal reflection. These everyday details connect to my own experiences, whether they’re about love, loss, or belonging. In capturing the beauty and emotion in everyday moments, I try to explore personal connections and the relationships that shape us.

I am a female artist born and raised on the south side of Chicago, IL, where public art is anything but lacking. Since the day I was born, I've been exposed to the murals that lit up and saturated the south side neighborhoods of Chicago and they sparked in me an infatuation with visual arts. I applied to many visual art schools with not a lot of hope in my heart, and a few months later I received an acceptance letter from my top choice School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since then, I completed my freshman year exploring places in the city where I never thought I'd find art and creating things in ways I never thought of. During my first semester I created a piece titled "Connection to my Mind," made from melted soap and fabric I found in a recycling bin to showcase my love for music through art. The piece was an absolute hit during my critique and my professors pushed for me to try out sculpture. Exploring the idea of art in places you wouldn't look and creating with ordinary objects like soap or ripped fabric has been what's peaked my curiosity the most in college, and I've loved seeing the look on people's faces when I told them I made a sculpture out of soap, and even more, the look on their faces when I show them the sculpture. What I want to do after college is still fuzzy to me right now, and there's a lot of different things I would like to do. However, my non-negotiable for my future is passing on the idea of looking to create with everyday objects to the next generation of artists. I want to tap into the curiosity of the next generation and show them that art isn't just a painting or sketch on the page, but that art is all around us from the paper we write on to the bar of soap from the drugstore.

I am a female artist born and raised on the south side of Chicago, IL, where public art is anything but lacking. Since the day I was born, I've been exposed to the murals that lit up and saturated the south side neighborhoods of Chicago and they sparked in me an infatuation with visual arts. When I began drawing and painting, I was never encouraged that it would be something I could pursue in college until my junior year of high school when my art teacher encouraged me to enter my print "Help Yourself" into the School of the Art Institute's All City Visual Art Exhibition. To my surprise I got in, with a piece of art that was so beloved and personal in the way that it demonstrated my struggle with body image and mental health. After such a positive experience at this exhibition I became even more infatuated with the arts and began compiling a portfolio so that I could apply to art schools around the country. I applied to many with not a lot of hope in my heart, and a few months later I received an acceptance letter from my top choice School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since then, I completed my freshman year exploring places in the city where I never thought I'd find art and creating things in ways I never thought of. During my first semester I created a piece titled "Connection to my Mind," made from melted soap and fabric I found in a recycling bin to showcase my love for music. Exploring the idea of art in places you wouldn't look and creating with ordinary objects like soap or ripped fabric has been what's peaked my curiosity the most in college, and I've loved seeing the look on people's faces when I told them I made a sculpture out of soap and even more the look on their faces when I show them the sculpture. What I want to do after college is still fuzzy to me right now, and there's a lot of different things I would like to do. The main thing I do have planned for my future is passing on the idea of looking to create with everyday objects to the next generation of artists. I want to tap into the curiosity of the next generation, and show them that art isn't just a painting, but that it's all around us from the paper we write on to the bar of soap from the drugstore.