All living things build their lives by responding to their environment, and the other living things around them. Humans are no exception, we may put ourselves on an anthropocentric pedestal, but we need suitable energy, rest, and safety to carry on living happily, just like a rabbit, bug, or tree would. While human behavior, emotions, and relationships seem complex, they are really not too far from the struggles of the other living things around us. As living things move through their lives, they gather experiences that affect how they respond to things in the future. These memories, no matter the form, make us what we are. As do the relationships we form with other living things. My work aims to highlight these collections of memory and relationships through imagery of various flora and fauna. I am highly inspired by the Texas Blackland Prairie and Cross Timbers regions that I live and grew up in, as well as my education in ecology. The structured nature of printmaking echoes the researched nature of my work while allowing me to plan for looseness and experimentation. I enjoy creating installations of prints that form a warm and tender environment for the viewer to navigate. At times I intersect with sculpture and fibers to create objects that further bring the printed image to a tangible place, such as with my baby quilts, objects to bring warmth and comfort while reflecting on the memory of life lived. I hope to wrap the viewer in a sense of empathy for oneself, other people, and other living things as we are all not so different from one another.
