F71-3
What is one of your fondest memories of your childhood?
The stage of magic realism during childhood continues to fascinate me today – one in which a child falls back and forth between that that is real and that that is imaginary. I remember being small and watching the claymation version of The Little Prince or reading Runaway Marie Louise or Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present and believing in this enthralling other world.
Have you lived in the Midwest long and what is that like?
I have spent a great deal of time in the Midwest as I was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and spent my childhood in Joplin, Missouri. Growing up in a small, Midwest town, attending a private, Catholic school, and being raised in an all female household are all factors that greatly influenced my being and thus, my artwork. What is it to grow-up, to live-in the Midwest is one question I continue to investigate and understand through my work.
Before moving overseas (I spent one year of undergraduate work studying art and French in Montpellier, France and another teaching English in Paris, France), I had yet to experience another culture or subculture. And, after living in San Francisco, California, I began to form a new realization of myself, my character, and my home. There are many wonderfully strange aspects to this particular region of the country, the Midwest – for example, religious affiliations and practices, hunting rituals, patriotic acts, entertainment forms, physical landscape, and the large size/scale of objects.
Were your parents supportive of your artistic tendencies?
My parents have always been very supportive concerning my art and work. My mother, in particular, consistently encouraged the act of creating and exploring at a young age, something I continue to incorporate within my current methodology. As she taught art, we were always constructing projects, reading literature, and visiting museums.
How has your work evolved over the past few years?
The stage of magic realism during childhood continues to fascinate me today – one in which a child falls back and forth between that that is real and that that is imaginary. I remember being small and watching the claymation version of The Little Prince or reading Runaway Marie Louise or Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present and believing in this enthralling other world.
Have you lived in the Midwest long and what is that like?
I have spent a great deal of time in the Midwest as I was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and spent my childhood in Joplin, Missouri. Growing up in a small, Midwest town, attending a private, Catholic school, and being raised in an all female household are all factors that greatly influenced my being and thus, my artwork. What is it to grow-up, to live-in the Midwest is one question I continue to investigate and understand through my work.
Before moving overseas (I spent one year of undergraduate work studying art and French in Montpellier, France and another teaching English in Paris, France), I had yet to experience another culture or subculture. And, after living in San Francisco, California, I began to form a new realization of myself, my character, and my home. There are many wonderfully strange aspects to this particular region of the country, the Midwest – for example, religious affiliations and practices, hunting rituals, patriotic acts, entertainment forms, physical landscape, and the large size/scale of objects.
Were your parents supportive of your artistic tendencies?
My parents have always been very supportive concerning my art and work. My mother, in particular, consistently encouraged the act of creating and exploring at a young age, something I continue to incorporate within my current methodology. As she taught art, we were always constructing projects, reading literature, and visiting museums.
How has your work evolved over the past few years?