I am pursuing an MA in Graphic and Web Design from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. My goal as a student and designer is to broaden my visual communication skills and create impactful design for communities to thrive within. With a background as a teaching artist and printmaker, I collaborate with communities to foster individual and collective problem-solving through creative thinking and making. Today, the world is grappling with the climate crisis, the rapid rise of AI, and a growing disconnect from what is actually helping or harming our futures. My work sits at the intersection of these tensions: I want to create thoughtful, educational design within technology, while also questioning technology's role in our daily lives. The goal isn't to reject tech, but to find a sustainable balance — using it as a tool for learning and connection, not something that consumes us or distances us from our communities and environment. I want to inspire people to use their screen time intentionally, to learn about their environment and connect with others locally. But I also believe it's healthy, even necessary, to disconnect regularly and return to slower, more thoughtful, hands-on practices. Design, for me, is a way of holding both of these truths at once: technology as a bridge to knowledge, and craft as a way back to presence. My current capstone project, Pressed & Sown: A Sustainable Planting & Crafting App, is an ongoing study, educational resource, and DIY project highlighting the importance of native plant ecosystems in Texas and neighboring North American regions. The app is built around this same balance. It uses digital tools to teach and track — helping users learn which plants are native to their ecoregion, start and sustain a garden, and document their progress through a digital DIY toolkit — while ultimately guiding them away from the screen and into tactile, low-impact creative practice. The technology is a starting point, not the destination. Within the app, users can access downloads and resources for transforming what they've grown into sustainable craft: botanical printing, natural dye pigments, and fiber weaving. A community database connects users to seed banks, local nurseries, and organizations, extending the goal beyond the individual garden into shared, real-world action. I want to help offset climate change and reconnect people to one another and their surroundings in a meaningful, sustainable way — without dismissing technology's genuine benefits, but also without letting it crowd out the slower, tactile ways of knowing that craft offers. My hope is that an app like Pressed & Sown can use technology just enough to spark that shift: encouraging people to put the phone down, work with their hands, think creatively with what they have, and build new skills rooted in place. This balance — technology as a gateway, craft as the destination — is a small but meaningful step toward a healthier future. We don't have to be passive observers of change, swept along by either climate anxiety or tech overload. We can actively and thoughtfully shape how we interact with both technology and the natural world. Thank you for considering my application. The support of a scholarship would mean a great deal in helping me complete my MA program, allowing me to focus fully on my studies and bring projects like Pressed & Sown to life with the depth and care it deserves.

I am pursuing an MA in Graphic and Web Design from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. My goal as a student and designer is to broaden my visual communication skills and create impactful design for communities to thrive within. With a background as a teaching artist and printmaker, I collaborate with communities to foster individual and collective problem-solving through creative thinking and making. Today, the world is grappling with the climate crisis, the rapid rise of AI, and a growing disconnect from what is actually helping or harming our futures. My work sits at the intersection of these tensions: I want to create thoughtful, educational design within technology, while also questioning technology's role in our daily lives. The goal isn't to reject tech, but to find a sustainable balance — using it as a tool for learning and connection, not something that consumes us or distances us from our communities and environment. I want to inspire people to use their screen time intentionally, to learn about their environment and connect with others locally. But I also believe it's healthy, even necessary, to disconnect regularly and return to slower, more thoughtful, hands-on practices. Design, for me, is a way of holding both of these truths at once: technology as a bridge to knowledge, and craft as a way back to presence. My current capstone project, Pressed & Sown: A Sustainable Planting & Crafting App, is an ongoing study, educational resource, and DIY project highlighting the importance of native plant ecosystems in Texas and neighboring North American regions. The app is built around this same balance. It uses digital tools to teach and track — helping users learn which plants are native to their ecoregion, start and sustain a garden, and document their progress through a digital DIY toolkit — while ultimately guiding them away from the screen and into tactile, low-impact creative practice. The technology is a starting point, not the destination. Within the app, users can access downloads and resources for transforming what they've grown into sustainable craft: botanical printing, natural dye pigments, and fiber weaving. A community database connects users to seed banks, local nurseries, and organizations, extending the goal beyond the individual garden into shared, real-world action. I want to help offset climate change and reconnect people to one another and their surroundings in a meaningful, sustainable way — without dismissing technology's genuine benefits, but also without letting it crowd out the slower, tactile ways of knowing that craft offers. My hope is that an app like Pressed & Sown can use technology just enough to spark that shift: encouraging people to put the phone down, work with their hands, think creatively with what they have, and build new skills rooted in place. This balance — technology as a gateway, craft as the destination — is a small but meaningful step toward a healthier future. We don't have to be passive observers of change, swept along by either climate anxiety or tech overload. We can actively and thoughtfully shape how we interact with both technology and the natural world. Thank you for considering my application. The support of a scholarship would mean a great deal in helping me complete my MA program, allowing me to focus fully on my studies and bring projects like Pressed & Sown to life with the depth and care it deserves.

I am a Printmaker engaging drawing, design and print as a catalyst to contextualize and represent everyday occurrences, historical ephemera, cultural myths and narratives. For nine years, I have been part of a print collective, Burning Bones Press and the Texas printmaking community at large. I also teach printmaking and 2-D design at the Glassell School of Art and for 9 years taught at the Kinder High School for Performing & Visual Arts and other local community spaces. Now, I am pursuing an MA in Graphic and Web Design from Minneapolis College of Art & Design to broaden my visual capacity and create impactful design in a community of creative thinkers, investigators and problem solvers. My art practice is a visceral response to everyday life and the stimulus of situations. Key to my process is exploring the past and finding inspiration through offbeat trailblazers and those who flew under the radar or challenged the mainstream. Through a funky irreverent approach, my work questions my values and those of the culture around me, reflecting ways to cope while attempting to be unrestrained and honest. I use found images and my own drawings to collage, contextualize, and transform their meanings. Applying unconventional approaches is a crucial part of my practice. I rely on and am captivated by the play and process of print manipulation. I approach printmaking with non-traditional materials and use them to manipulate the printing matrix, such as applying fabrics and creating texture with everyday objects. I further push the printed image by drawing and painting directly onto the prints, each print evolving into a unique image. The community nature of printmaking, as well as print’s role in the history of ephemera, has drawn me to pursue an MA in Graphic and Web Design. Printmakers have a common language that is manifested through communal print shops and a willingness to share and nurture visual experimentation. Leading workshops at Burning Bones Press, exchanging ideas and techniques with colleagues, and creating events for our community at large has provided an invaluable experience growing into an engaged creative. I believe communication art through design reflects the Printmaker ethos but also pushes boundaries and spans a larger audience. I am particularly passionate about poster and book arts, with a soft spot for hands-on craft. This opportunity to study graphic design at MCAD has elevated and expanded my formal design skills, as well as fostered a more purposeful design practice. I am drawn to the investigative, cross-disciplinary and practical, yet experimental approaches of graphic design. As an MA candidate, I am exploring the connection of community between artists in collectives, such as print shops and its impact on surrounding communities. How printed media such as books and posters have engaged and influenced culture and how to push design beyond print, into virtual spaces. Furthering my knowledge in graphic and web design, I can use skills to refine and propel the organizations I’m part of to larger audiences. It would also be an exercise in documenting, preserving, and archiving a thriving community. My current capstone project, Pressed & Sown is an on-going study, educational resource and DIY project to highlight the importance of native plant conservation in Texas and neighboring North American regions. Utilizing craft and DIY ethos of printmaking and paper making, Pressed & Sown brings awareness to preservation of native plants and strengthening communities through craft. This project consists of screenprinted posters designed to educate and highlight native plant conservation, what a native plant is and how they are beneficial to communities. The posters are designed as an instructional project kit to upcycle materials into a hand-made paper, containing plantable native seed materials and how to use native plant dyes. It is also an exercise in documenting, preserving, and archiving a thriving community.

I am a Printmaker engaging drawing, design and print as a catalyst to contextualize and represent everyday occurrences, historical ephemera, cultural myths and narratives. For nine years, I have been part of a print collective, Burning Bones Press and the Texas printmaking community at large. I teach printmaking and 2-D design at the Glassell School of Art and other local community spaces. Now, I am pursuing an MA in Graphic and Web Design from Minneapolis College of Art & Design to broaden my visual capacity and create impactful design in a community of creative thinkers, investigators and problem solvers. My art practice is a visceral response to everyday life and the stimulus of situations. Key to my process is exploring the past and finding inspiration through offbeat trailblazers and those who challenged the mainstream. My work questions my values and those of the culture around me, reflecting ways to cope while attempting to be unrestrained and honest. I use found images and my own drawings to collage, contextualize, and transform their meanings. Applying unconventional approaches is a crucial part of my practice. I approach printmaking with non-traditional materials and use them to manipulate the printing matrix. The community nature of printmaking, as well as print’s role in the history of ephemera, has drawn me to pursue an MA in Graphic and Web Design. Printmakers have a common language that is manifested through communal print shops and a willingness to share and nurture visual experimentation. Leading workshops, exchanging ideas and techniques with colleagues, and creating events for our community at large has provided an invaluable experience growing into an engaged creative. I believe communication art through design reflects the Printmaker ethos but also pushes boundaries and spans a larger audience. The opportunity to study graphic design at MCAD is elevating and expanding my formal design skills, as well as fostering a more purposeful design practice. I am drawn to the investigative, cross-disciplinary and practical, yet experimental approaches of graphic design. As an MA candidate, I am exploring the connection of community between artists in collectives, such as print shops and its impact on surrounding communities. How printed media such as books and posters have engaged and influenced culture and how to push design beyond print, into virtual spaces. My current capstone project, Pressed & Sown is an on-going study, educational resource and DIY project to highlight the importance of native plant conservation in Texas and neighboring North American regions. Utilizing craft and DIY ethos of printmaking and paper making, Pressed & Sown brings awareness to preservation of native plants and strengthening communities through craft. This project consists of screenprinted posters designed to educate and highlight native plant conservation, what a native plant is and how they are beneficial to communities. The posters are designed as an instructional project kit to upcycle materials into a hand-made paper, containing plantable native seed materials and how to use native plant dyes. It is also an exercise in documenting, preserving, and archiving a thriving community.

I am a Printmaker engaging drawing, design and print as a catalyst to contextualize and represent everyday occurrences, historical ephemera, cultural myths and narratives. My art practice is a visceral response to everyday life and the stimulus of situations. Key to my process is exploring the past and finding inspiration through offbeat trailblazers and those who flew under the radar or challenged the mainstream. Through a funky irreverent approach, my work questions my values and those of the culture around me, reflecting ways to cope while attempting to be unrestrained and honest. I use found images and my own drawings to collage, contextualize, and transform their meanings. Applying unconventional approaches is a crucial part of my practice. I am captivated by the play and process of print manipulation. I approach printmaking with non-traditional materials and use them to manipulate the printing matrix, such as applying fabrics and creating texture with everyday objects. I further push the printed image by drawing and painting directly onto the prints, each print evolving into a unique image. The community nature of printmaking, as well as print’s role in the history of ephemera, has drawn me to pursue an Master of Arts degree. Printmakers have a common language that is manifested through communal print shops and a willingness to share and nurture visual experimentation. Leading community workshops in print and exchanging ideas and techniques with colleagues, has provided an invaluable experience growing into an engaged creative. Creating mixed-media art with print reflects the Printmaker ethos but also pushes boundaries and spans a larger audience. As an MA candidate, I’d like to explore the connection of community between artists in collectives, such as print shops and its impact on surrounding communities. It would also be an exercise in documenting, preserving, and archiving a thriving community.