BFA, Studio Art (Print and Narrative Forms)

Artist Statement

I’ve always blushed easily and intensely. As a kid, I knew my face was naturally pink and I was self-conscious about it, which would make me blush, and then I would become even more self-conscious because I knew I was illuminating red, and it would spiral from there. A vicious cycle, it started from something harmless. Blushing is Self-Awareness is a body of work that explores the mental torment of being overly conscious and not being able to stop. 

My blush had become a warm, red, and persistent reminder of the things about myself that I didn’t like and couldn’t get rid of. I beat myself up for a long time before accepting and realizing that it was fine. Nobody hated me and it didn’t ruin my life, it was just kind of embarrassing. Creating this series, I return to the memory of feeling self-conscious and what I couldn’t control. By creating these mixed media drawings, I am reminded of the conscious decisions I made to worry less about the things I can’t control.