Summary
I am currently in my first year of a three-year-long graduate program in Animatronics, the art of bringing lifeline qualities to artificial beings. My program spans the process of character design and development, prototyping mechanisms and programming movements, and fabrication of the interior and exterior.
My educational, creative and professional background as an artist and maker is diverse, ranging from graduating with an undergraduate degree in Psychology at the Evergreen State College in 2013, to apprenticing under a traditional mask maker in Mongolia for three months in 2014. My studies included theories on the nature of human consciousness, the psychology of perception, dreams and mythology, and human developmental and behavioral studies. As a visual artist, my first dedicated body of work (2015 to 2017) was focused on capturing animals native to Northern California and was inspired by my upbringing in that land and my return as an adult. Following this body of work, my practice evolved into a visual contemplation of my mixed-race and first-generation American identity. The series, "Blank Face'' (2017 to 2020), was an attempt to capture the mysterious and intricate nature of becoming oneself, given these multifaceted selves. Over the years, this series was shared as photographs and collaborated video work in performances or as objects in an installation.
My art practice progressed in tandem with my professional journey as a freelance fabricator, art installer, and art/entertainment industry worker. I started my commission work by sculpting exclusively in clay, but eventually began experimenting with a variety of materials meant to improve the wearability of pieces. In 2022, I made twelve eyeball masks from two different types of foam, resin, plastic, and finished with an airbrush for Lil Nas X’s Long Live Montero tour. This same year, I sculpted and cast an epoxy, resin and fiberglass mask for choreographer Andrea Densmore’s opera, “Eve, An Opera” - a deeply vulnerable production about women's exploitation and liberation. The mask portrayed the two-faced nature of the perpetrator and featured a quiet and smooth 180° rotation of the face on stage. Around this same time, I also sculpted a series of oil-based clay miniature faces for a stop-motion segment in Boots Riley’s 2023 series “I’m A Virgo'' with Oakland-based Mystery Meat Media. Years prior to this, I designed and constructed a wedding dress for my best friend, contributed masks for a variety of music videos and dance productions, and was featured in video portraits and print publications. As an art installer and preparator, I work in small teams constructing spaces, fabricating components for more intricate installations, and assisting artists for museum or gallery exhibits. When back in Washington, I work contract installations with the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, the Tacoma Art Museum, and in the Washington State History Museum.
Skills
Software proficiency
