Drawing
This portfolio showcases a series of drawings created between 2020 and 2022. Each piece is made with ink, markers, and pens on archival paper, ranging in size from 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches to 8 1/2 x 12 1/4 inches. The works are inspired by surrealist automatism, a technique where conscious control is relinquished during the creation process, allowing the unconscious mind and accident to guide the artwork.
Between 2019 and 2021, I filled several Rolodexes with drawings created while I was on the phone or in transit around the city. Each drawing is made with ink and markers on 2 1/4 x 4 inch individual Rolodex cards. These cards function as stand-alone pieces but can also be combined into larger compositions. The work invites interaction, allowing viewers to sift through the Rolodexes as if searching for a contact’s phone number or address.
This selection of ink drawings, completed between 2017 and 2021, ranges in size from 5 x 7 inches to 16 x 20 inches. Like my colored drawings, these works are created using automatic techniques, evolving directly from my unconscious mind. Over time, they become more referential, incorporating elements that evoke architecture, construction, the contrast between the natural and urban worlds, and landscapes.
This features several series where I’ve drawn on film cards and found materials like small wooden blocks and puzzle pieces. Inspired by my father, who was a master carpenter and often used blocks of wood for note-taking, I began carrying bits of wood in my pocket, ready to pull out and draw on at any moment. The use of found, weathered materials lends the work resilience and character, with age and wear becoming integral to the artwork and its mark-making process.
Since 2017, I have been drawing on beach sticks collected from the shores of Lake Michigan while visiting my sister. The natural characteristics of each stick—such as its grain—direct the flow of my drawings. When I hold them, I instinctively know where and how to start. These familiar materials evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and warmth, and once adorned with my drawings, they are transformed into personal talismans.
I’ve been drawing in small, handheld books for most of my life. These books serve as constant companions, accompanying me wherever I go. As an artist who works full-time, they provide the opportunity to create art during any pause in my day, offering a direct reflection of time, place, and feeling. Through this practice, which I started documenting in 2016, I can continuously capture and translate moments into my work, no matter where I am.