Cosmic Ascension

Digital collage is a place where the possibilities are as infinite as my own internal landscapes. It is immediate, malleable, fluid, and forgiving. I love how quickly I can assemble the visions and symbols that come to me during my meditation practice. Bird of prey for fierceness, virility, and necessary aggression. A rainbow circle as a sign of infinite hope and a nod to my favorite Hilma af Klint painting. A volcano for alchemy, fire and earth, reminiscent of my days in Iceland. An egg, a waterfall, an open flower coming together like patchwork to share the image in my mind’s eye.

My main motivations for art making are catharsis, processing, and internal paradigm shifting. Creating images helps me explore and make sense of my complex identity as well as the narratives that uphold and sometimes oppose it. As a Queer Trans Nonbinary POC who was raised Catholic in the Midwest, there is a lot for me to understand.

Image making is one way that I declare my own existence as meaningful and impactful. It empowers me to explore my internal landscapes, making them tangible. This allows me to invite others into my experience safely through time and space.

My first inspiration was the religious imagery of the Catholic churches I grew up in. Attracted to the grandness, the narrative, and the ornamentation, I loved the way these images depicted the divinity of humanity. The sacredness of mother and child, of suffering, of generosity, of a meal shared amongst friends. The way agony and glory was upheld and shown to be inextricable. That complexity really excited me as a child.

Discovering art history as a teenager was a revelation. Fascinated by symbolism, collage, and self-portraiture, I immersed myself in the work of Caravaggio, Frida Kahlo, Betye Saar, Nan Goldin, Richard Avedon, Robert Mappelthorpe, and Gerhard Richter. Finding it hard to see myself represented in the work I was studying, I often imagined combining them. Taking pieces and elements that I loved and living in the liminal spaces in between. That’s when I began collaging and experimenting with photographic processes. I found it thrilling to manipulate film and generate images I had never seen before.

Even after years of artmaking, producing a new image still feels like channeling the divine. These days I am deeply inspired by Sarah Sze, Bruce Conners, Vija Celmins, Kerry James Marshall, Hilma af Klimt, and Jonah Welch. Drawn to the fantastical, colorful and surprising, I appreciate how these artists weave together the mundane and the magical. The dedication to their craft and the expansive trajectory of their work and legacy moves me.

The more I experience—from milking cows on a farm in southern Iceland to reconnecting with my ancestors to working as a dominatrix and coach—the more I turn to art making as an empowering act of creation and celebration. Celebration and creation in an infinite loop.

While I enjoy many mediums, especially printmaking, photography, embroidery, and collage, I find myself most at home with digital collage. The immediacy and fluidity are exhilarating. The way I can build layers, borrowing and adapting images to fit my vision enables me to be the composer of these small, but expansive worlds where all parts of me belong.

Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta 325 gsm, 100% a- cellulose high gloss finish.

Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta is a bright white, cellulose-based Fine Art paper with a coating specially tailored for Fine Art use. The clearly visible, exquisite felt structure lends the paper its lovely soft feel and tactile surface texture to produce prints with a stunning depth. The high-gloss premium coating guarantees outstanding print results with perfect reproduction of colour and detail, deep blacks, and striking contrasts. The barium sulphate within the coating gives Fine Art Baryta the feel of a traditional analogue baryta paper.

The acid – and lignin – free paper meets the most exacting requirements.

Each full series of a work also includes eight Owners’ Edition prints, which are not offered for public sale. Originals may be available. Contact us for details.