Art has always been in my life, in all different forms. I have gone through many phases but through all of that visual arts has remained a strong constant in my life. It has transformed medium and meaning over time. I have worked with clay, graphite, charcoal, watercolor, acrylic paints and pastels. I started out creating as a pastime, to make things that looked cool or brought me joy as a child but now Art is both my identity and my way to share my identity. I have steadied on photography as my chosen medium to communication with. I use it to speak my mind, share the beauty I see in my environment and express emotions without words. Being that I am a quiet person art is my way to communicate in a more concise way without the need for words. Continually I have fallen into self portraiture as my own means of self therapy. I have used photography to work through an array of emotions in my life, from getting to know myself and how I view the world, to dealing with depression. Anytime I need to get a feeling, or a concept out I turn to self portraiture to most directly communicate. There is no wall between the model and I, as I am the model. I continue to play with ideas in my head and deal with my own emotions using self portraiture when best fit. Next to self portraiture is taking images of my own loved ones and models. Through photography I am able to use figures to share my view of the world, I am attracted to the ideas of loneliness and capturing the stillness within movements. A lot can be communicated with the human figure. It can speak for the common experience or personal ones. Emotions can be expressed in the smallest of movements and interactions with a space. I have continually explored the idea of androgyny and how the slightest modifications in position or makeup of a person can blur gender lines. The added layer of lighting completes the environment presented in an image, creating moods and symbolism; I have used lighting to emphasize what I want the viewer to focus on. With art I am able to put emotions out in the open in my own unique way to be viewed, it is an act that excites me like no other. Art has become a part of my soul, the part of my soul that allows me to speak louder than words would ever allow.
