ARTIST STATEMENT

>To be an artist means to express yourself in a way that may not have been possible without art. Feelings and emotions can be poured out into art and help physically depict how we are feeling. In my opinion, Stephen King perfectly summed it up when he said: “Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.” Being an artist allows us to be creative and share our emotions in a new way. Artists can look at problems in the world or what they are dealing with and better understand them through art. There is a connection between an artist and their work but it can also connect to a variety of people and invoke specific thoughts or feelings. An artist is able to take their emotions and produce something so that others can better understand what they are feeling.

>My portfolio reflects who I am as an artist because of the surreal and abstract approach I am taking. I have always been very interested in human psychology and have felt that things like zodiacs, personality tests, and enneagrams can help to better understand how someone acts or thinks. Music is another form of art that I find a deep connection and comfort in. Sleeping at Last's enneagram songs helped to combine my two favorite things: music and human psychology. As an artist, being able to physically create something that can represent these songs reflects all my interest in one project. When someone looks at my artworks, I am hoping that they can empathize with the enneagram types and better understand what they are like.

>Growing as an artist has definitely influenced other artistic parts of my life like how I dress, how I present myself, what music I listen to, and how I interpret other works of art. I have become more confident in who I am because of art and have learned to better express and understand my feelings.