Still Deep

NJ Emerging Artists Solo Series
October – November, 2019
Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ

Artist Statement

Still Deep is a sculptural exploration of adaptation. My work serves as a catalog of my experience with gender roles as a stay-at-home mother, wife, and teacher. Since the birth of my daughter, the balance between my home life and studio practice has become an endless competition for time. To alleviate this anxiety, I obsessively sew numerous duplicates of simple forms, then use them to build biomorphic abstractions. The sculptures become collections of otherworldly, pliable curves and gentle planes merging into and branching off from one another.

My work relies heavily on process, from the time spent stitching each form to being elbow-deep in a dye vat. I appreciate focusing on each step that culminates in a new piece. I revel in the calmness that comes with the sensory connection to my work as I manipulate the materials. I repurpose scrap and old textiles, such as my husband’s ripped oxfords and thrifted linen tablecloths, all of which come with their own history. I employ boro and other hand stitching techniques to blend these textiles together, building up texture with thread. The pairing of traditional “women’s work” with the competing forces in my life irrevocably fuse my memories into each sculpture.