ARTIST STATEMENT
In the beginning, my art takes many organic and indistinct forms. This sense of visual ambiguity is important for me, as it creates an environment that offers an opportunity for free and abstract thought. I prefer to say I “grow” my art rather than create it; an organic process in which each individual piece plays an active role and evolves within its own circumstance. My hope is to encourage the viewer to decide what I “grew” based on their own personal experience rather than making the subject matter distinguishable.
Nature plays an important part of my artwork, both as a source of material and inspiration. In my view, nature is the purest form of art and by using sticks and other found objects from the natural world, I try to capture some of that essence and remind the viewer that nature is itself an art.
My artwork develops from a basis of freedom and exploration. For me, the process exceeds the importance of the piece and I am guided by mistakes and roadblocks; I use them as an opportunity to learn the potential of the materials and myself.
I work in collaboration with my materials rather than in command, allowing each individual characteristic to guide me. I stray from the traditional, hoping to discover new possibilities, encourage organic development, and thus, new ideas. With every piece, I seek to free myself from the limitations and assumptions of what art can be and what can be accomplished with diverse materials.
My work spans many mediums and subject matter, but the underlying theme in every piece is the idea that each part must come together to create a unifying entity. For me, an overwhelming theme in our natural world is that everything exists simultaneously – separately and symbiotically, on a micro and macro level. It’s a principal I am captivated by and naturally respond to in my artwork, envisioning every little piece as an integral part of the whole.
BIOGRAPHY
I was born and raised in Napa Valley where my artistic pursuits began by accident and as a byproduct of boredom when I began sketching as a way to avoid daily tasks. I wasn’t expecting art to become anything more than a hobby but following my first year in college and a (very) brief effort at an anthropology degree, I made a correction in my path that ultimately changed the focus of my life.
College art classes introduced me to the idea that art can be created with more than just paper and pen. I began exploring the possibilities offered by a profusion of available art mediums and have discovered a treasure trove of traditional and nontraditional techniques.
In 2017, I earned a degree in Printmaking from Syracuse University, but not before a misunderstanding (that we will chalk up to fate) landed me in a ceramics class at the community college in South Lake Tahoe, where I began to re-explore a medium I had paid little mind to in the past.
I quickly became enthralled. And a few years and a few thousand ceramic forms later, I am a full time artist mainly focusing on functional art created from clay.
I officially declared myself a full time artist in August 2020 and started Spoon and Sprig Studio: a home for all my creative pursuits, both functional and visual. Spoon and Sprig Studio is operated by myself, out of a small 60 square foot shed turned studio that lives in my backyard here in South Lake Tahoe.
Although I am the sole maker, Spoon and Sprig Studio would not exist without the support and love of so many friends and family that I will forever be grateful to.
I would like to say a special thank you to my boyfriend Dylan Robertson who built my studio, found and transported my kiln, and offers me and my artwork an immeasurable amount of support and love on a daily basis.
-
2017 Bachelor of Fine Art in Printmaking, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
-
2019 Student Art Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Juror: Scott Hudson
Best of Show
1st Place, Ceramic Sculpture
1st Place, Raku
1st Place, Functional Sculpture
Honorable Mention, Functional Sculpture
2018 Student Art Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Juror: Tony Natsoulas
3rd Place, Ceramic Sculpture
Most Authentic Vision
2017 Student Art Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Juror: Frances Melhop
Best of Show
1st Place, 3D Mixed Media
2nd Place, 3D Mixed Media
Honorable Mention, 3D Mixed Media
Honorable Mention, Ceramic Sculpture
Honorable Mention, Printmaking
3D Technical Merit
Most Promising Emerging Artist
2016 Marion Behr Printmaking Award, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
2014 Focus Award, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
2012 Napa Valley Arts Council Scholarship, Napa, CA
-
2021 Ecocentric, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
2021 Off Center, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
2020 Off Center, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
2020 Creature Comforts, Solo Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2019 Learning Curve, Napa, Ca
2019 LTCC Art First Class, South Lake Tahoe City Hall Gallery, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2019 Student Art Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2019 California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art, Davis, CA
2018 Winners Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2018 LTCC Art First Class, South Lake Tahoe City Hall Gallery, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2018 Student Art Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2018 California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art, Davis, CA
2017 Winners Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2017 "Alteration of Generations," Benko Gallery, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2017 Student Art Exhibition, Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA
2017 California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art, Davis, CA
2017 Arts Guild of Sonoma Invitational (Zaza Fetterly) Sonoma, CA
2016 Fair Exchange, Leeds College of Art, Leeds, United Kingdom
2016 BFA Thesis Exhibition, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
2016 Printmaking Show, Syracuse, NY
2016 Tied Up, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, Ny
2016 Unstretched, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
2016 Off the Deep End, Apostrophe S Gallery, Syracuse, NY
2016 Chaos, Arc Gallery and Studios, San Francisco, CA
2015 Call the Fire Department, It’s Hot as Balls!, Apostrophe S Gallery, Syracuse, NY
2015 Free Swim, Syracuse, NY
2014 Free Swim, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY
2014 First Year Juried Show, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
-
2016 Tied Up, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY
in collaboration with Andrew Feilding and Eliza Warpner
-
Erin Kelly, “Spark Contemporary Art Space,” Jerk Magazine, Syracuse, NY, April 2016, Vol.9 Issue 9 Pg. 48-51