You’re a new addition to the crayon box: what color are you? 
Hm- I guess it depends if we are talking about the standard pack or the 64 set with built in sharpener ! Probably a good neon pink . I use a good bit of that in my work and I think it’s really underrated. Pink can be really sophisticated . 

What is your earliest memory of art? 
My earliest memory of art is definitely with my mom. She was really creative and allowed my sisters and I the space to explore and make messes. We used to color in my Barbie coloring books together and I think back to the care she took to add blush to their cheeks, highlights to their hair and clothing. I remember thinking - how is she so good?

How did you become a practicing artist? 
I went to school in 2013 for Fibers and graduated in 2016. From graduation, making was always on the back burner for me. It wasn’t until being furloughed in 2020 that I had the opportunity to really delve back into creating in a full and focused way and that changed things for me. Reminded me how fulfilling I find beading, creating, making and experimenting. In April of this year I took the plunge and left my gallery job to pursue my practice full time. 

Take us through the process of making one of your painted bead works. 
When working with a photograph, whether my own or a found image I begin by deciding what I want to eliminate and enhance . Maybe there is a distracting background or shadows that I want to block in with solid dense, lines of beadwork. I consider where I want to add texture, what about the image I want to enhance. What will become beadwork and where will I incorporate paint. How can I transform the surface to create an immediately recognizable texture ?

What drew you to working with beads in this way. 
While pursuing a Fibers degree I took a beading class with the immeasurable Sam Norgard . Sam is a tremendous beader and an even more lovely teacher. Though the course was designated as a beading for Fibers course (it was also available for jewelry students in a more jewelry geared application) I wanted to question its application even more. Sam says she remembers me asking early on for a project she gave us “Could I bead into canvas ? Could that be my project?” I saw beadwork as a means to “paint” and still largely do.

Some of your work seems to nod to Pop Art. Does the Pop Art movement inspire your work at all? Why/why not? 
I can definitely see that, especially with my color palettes. It’s almost funny to me, because I never quite start out to make a piece quite so bright and saturated in color and theme but it frequently works out that way. I think in actuality I have a much darker side to my work that I’ve only begun exploring.

Are there any other art movements you reference in your work?
Probably the Neo - Dada movement and the assemblage and found object aspects of Rauschenberg’s work. I too often think of his principle of starting on a “started surface” instead of a perfectly blank one. Oftentimes my beaded canvases were once the surface for spray painting objects, that have now been painted over to receive bead application. I like the idea of working with a surface that has already had a life, a story, maybe even a color palette before I begin a beaded painting. I feel it furthers the work’s story of transformation.

Name three other artists who have inspired your work?
 I love the combines by Robert Rauschenberg, the element of incorporating found objects into pieces. Cindy Sherman’s self portraits are tremendous and definitely always get me thinking. And I’m a big fan of all things Divine. (The performer and drag queen Harris Glenn Milstead) 

What does a typical studio day look like for you? 
Coffee first , then I come into the studio, pull the blinds all the way up so I have the most light possible in my room. I kind’ve evaluate what I’m going to/need to focus on for the day. Is there a commission I need to complete or am I going to focus more on art show applications and reaching out to shops about carrying my work.  Then we go from there. I am really grateful for the freedom I have in my schedule and the fact that each day is not the same. 

How has quarantine changed your practice?
I am giving working for myself a go ! Quarantine and furlough last year really made me reassess my priorities and take a look at what was truly making me happy in my life. Ultimately it made me decide to quit my gallery job and pursue my art full time. Making the decision to work for myself has definitely been filled with a lot of emotions, stress, highs and lows. Trying my best to embrace all elements of the journey , I’ve decided to give myself a year before I re-evaluate things again. I think I owe it to myself to really give this my all.