̨Íåswag

The Bells
Mixed traditional and digital media

Untitled: Time in Quarantine 1
Acrylic on canvas

I have admired minimalist artists and color field painters for years. While I have painted abstractly for several years, I was always afraid to make the leap to a more minimal painting style. When the pandemic hit, all my inhibitions left and I decided that I needed to paint what I wanted instead of worrying about what anyone else said or thought of my work. My art during quarantine has been some of my bravest work to date.

Remote
Procreate and Apple pencil on the iPad

Creating coloring pages began as a way for me to check in with myself and process the news around the pandemic. I needed to make time to sit and draw during a time when all routine and normalcy evaporated. This piece reflects how powerless I felt during the early stages of the pandemic. What could one do at the time besides #Tahoe and watch it unfold? The pandemic has taught me to relax the grip on what I thought would happen and really be present with what is happening. Despite the global crisis, there are good things unfolding around us. And maybe because of the global crisis, we are holding those good things even more dear.

Void Fill
Terracotta clay, press molded

The ephemeral installation, Void Fill, describes the vulnerability of a sudden separation from my studio, companions, and routine while transitioning into uncertainty. The title refers both to the act of filling packing materials with clay to use them as molds, and the fact that packing materials are often referred to as “void fill”. The work accurately depicts the degradation of this current dystopian world as it is exposed to the elements and slowly withers away.

Saratoga - Corona Indian
Acrylic on canvas

During the Covid Pandemic, I was approached by the Krewe Of Red Beans in New Orleans. They asked me to paint this portrait of a Mardi Gras Indian for a benefit auction in order to raise relief funds for those affected by the Corona Virus.  

Woman in Red Drapery
Acrylic on canvas

Through the Window
Acrylic on canvas

Carbon Study No. 3
Okawara Japanese paper, goat skin, deer parchment, handmade flax paper, carbon, binders board, wheat starch paste, linen thread, blind tooling

Through my Carbon Study series I seek to abstract form and function by blending the inherently disparate inner and outer layer of the book, challenging what it means to read, and questioning how much of the reading experience is generated by the book object or the critically engaged observer. The reader is invited to discover nuance in tone and form created by the act of alteration and burning, ultimately drawing their own interpretations of meaning. Themes that have emerged while producing this series have included humanity's relationship to the natural world, ecological cycles, and continual transformation.

Put Your Hands Up
Mixed media

Masked First Lady
Conte crayons, graphite pencils, India ink pens, and colored pencils

Kayleen
Oil on canvas

As Covid-19 ravages the world and we are sheltered in place, I have felt despondent and afraid. To alleviate my anxiety I searched for sources of light in my life; I looked to people I admire, people who are strong and resilient, people who are adaptable and kind.

In the Daylight
Acrylic on canvas

Our bodies are remarkable and beautiful and we should celebrate them always. Yet, what I was craving above all during quarantine was genuine human connection: it's not just our bodies at night... it's what we see, feel and do in the daylight that matters most. And it's one of countless reasons why portraiture has remained a constant companion for me.

Reflection
Acrylic on canvas

This time of quarantine looks different for everyone. I want to share a work that expresses the many emotions felt during this period of time.

Peace Like a River
Adobe InDesign/Illustrator

One of Life’s Certainties
April 2020, Digitally Colored Illustration

Rainbow Trout
Acrylic on plywood

Mindchaser
Acrylic on Canvas

Hope
Pencil, micron and watercolor on paper

Pop Heart
Found objects

Giant Bunny on a Magical Island
Mixed medium

I was inspired by my pet bunny, Cocoa, and my favorite genre, fantasy. He's sitting around a bunch of flowers in a forest of red and blue trees. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland!

Back to Nature
Ceramic Greenware

Back to nature is a group of three greenware wheel thrown pieces. It’s inspiration stems from Natalie’s time during quarantine during the Covid-19 outbreak. Natalie spent much of her outside studio time either in the kitchen, or out in nature, thus leading to her work back to nature.  Due to lack of resources, pieces are neither bisque nor glaze fired. 

Zoom
Acrylic on canvas

These are the my classmates in film photography. Through Zoom, you glimpse into your peer's worlds. We are all living our own little individual lives, surviving, doing what it takes to make it each day. Each screen is a portal into a different place with its own personal style. We are all so different, and live so differently. Our lives look a lot different than they did a month ago. Zoom is a place that brings us all together when we are really so far apart.  

Finding Color in the Darkness
Oil on canvas

Covid
Acrylic

Jolley painted this as the weight of his own upended life was compounded by those of his wife, an RN in the Atlanta region, and his daughter and son-in-law, both ICU doctors in New York City. His daughter was diagnosed with Covid-19 but had to return to work in the second week of her illness due to the crushing patient load and lack of physicians in the hard-hit New York City hospital districts.

Daybreak
Digital painting

This piece is about the wane of this whole pandemic. We are coming to exit of the forest as the sun begins to rise.

Youth of the Quarantine 2020
Charcoal on paper

This is my son playing the Nintendo Switch. While on quarantine, he prefers to immerse himself into video games which I'm sure a lot of the youth is concurrently doing. More than ever, I feel that we are all connected electronically through many platforms to stay engaged with one another. While he is immersed, I wanted the viewer to feel immersed as well. 

Blindsided
Acrylic on canvas

In addition to attending ̨Íåswag as a full-time art student, I also work full-time in the office of a grocery store. "Blindsided" is my interpretation of the current social dilemma of panic buying at grocery stores as well as the lengths at which some are going to avoid illness.

6ft a-p-a-r-t
Digital photograph

This self-portrait represents all of the anxiety and questions that circled through my mind as I transitioned from an active life to my isolated online life. I became overwhelmed. I have learned it is okay to hit pause and reset.

I have come so that they may have life
Acrylic on black matte canvas

COVID-19 took summer camp and being a fourth year counselor away from me. Even so, I can hold fast onto the fact that I am a daughter to a God that gives life over and over again. His promises don’t dissipate regardless of my circumstances. There is something greater than camp or my own plans that he hasn’t revealed yet. This painting is a permanent reminder of that truth.

Beck
Mixed Media

Weaving at Home
Assorted wool and cotton yarns

Bonnaroo
2015/2020, Watercolor and xerox transfer

The End of Us
Acrylic paint and mixed media

The Inflation Vortex
Designed in Tinkercard and 3-D printed

The Government’s $2Trillion+ gifts swirl about the Inflation Vortex as their purchasing value decays with the happy pork barrels in the background. 

The dollars get smaller as time passes and disappear down the vortex of political self-centeredness, big government spending, and inflation.