Artist Statement

My work is a disjointed personal mythology that represents the dimensions of my experiences with depression. By creating densely layered and saturated woodcut monoprints, I contrast an unwavering belief in religion with the hopelessness of mental illness. 

I invite viewers to explore this contrast through motifs inspired by Spanish Gothic churches. These sacred places have been made and remade over hundreds of years, creating complex textures derived from the layering of styles over centuries. To emulate this process of decay and renewal, I create abstract backgrounds containing fragments of plants and lace. Layered over these textures are woodblock prints of characters and objects,  directly inspired by the use of bold symbols and the flatness of the figuration included in medieval art. 

The narrative I am forming through this body of work follows two characters, Celeste and Clara, who each represent different aspects of my experience with depression. Celeste’s story represents the battle against despair that people with depression must fight every day, and the strength it takes to find hope. Clara’s beginning demonstrates the difficulties one might face through masking their mental illness and the loss of identity that comes with pretending you’re okay when you’re not. Her story ends triumphantly, with a bold assertion of self. Clara and Celeste are joined by several symbols that may represent hope or despair and are indicative of the nonlinear journey of recovery from mental illness. All of these images are recontextualized through my treatment of them in my monoprints, adding complexity to the presentation of my experience. 

My printing process starts outdoors. I take long walks in the Guilford woods to collect plants to use while printing. These walks are grounding for me and reinvigorate me in my process. The act of focusing on something as simple as cutting leaves from a tree allows me to be present in my body and reflect on my mental state. Then, by inking the plant matter I have collected along with doilies, I create plate monotype backgrounds for my work. Through pressure, the imprint of the doilies and plants is transferred onto paper. The complex textures that are derived from these materials recall both the heaviness of depression and the layers of time present in the gothic works I am inspired by. These textures sit under my woodblock symbols in unique ways and change their meanings, playing their form off the composition I have already created. 

My work is an attempt to offer hope and solace to individuals who struggle as I do. This project is an act of defiance, a representation of the continued fight against apathy and despair, and a recognition of the possibility to find holiness in the everyday.