I think most would agree that art, in all forms, connects people. Art addresses feelings and experience with or without words, attempting to translate universal commonalities. Trying to express pleasure, confusion, or angst through art is not an easy thing. It’s a therapeutic process. I realize this may not be every artists struggle or aim, but it is mine. My work serves as a visual journal, and one that I hope results in something stimulating to viewers.
 
From arranged still-life paintings to compositions that showcase singular objects, my choices of iconography had felt subconscious, but were often and admittedly preconceived. After several critiques, I understood that my imagery - in using autobiographical references or just “my stuff”  - resulted in dark or depressing expressions. I thought: “Great! Another depressed, whining artist!”
 
As a response to those critiques, and in a somewhat cynical gesture, I began to incorporate images of luggage or “baggage” into my work. The satire took on a life of it’s own.  Next, I began to add text, thinking: “spell it out so it’s very clear!” However, clarity is not my main concern. I view text as a compositional tool, in addition to the iconography I use to get my point across. The strategy is not meant to be a literal translation, since I often use foreign languages. The meaning is for meant for me, and the image is for the audience. Currently, I am interested in the visual language and overall aesthetics of European advertisements from the early to mid 1900s, as well as propaganda posters, in general.

            After a German native asked me to describe the process of my artwork, he responded by introducing me to an expression that he felt was fitting to my explanation; the word in German is “fingerspitzengehful”, which translates into English as “fingertip feeling”. It describes quick intuitive thinking - allowing uncertain decisions to be made via an elimination process. Since then, I have been interested in using other words, phrases or expressions, in various languages that do not necessarily translate clearly. With these phrases, whether they are proper or slang, I am trying to further connect common ideas and sayings that transcend language and visual boundaries.

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