A Few Blocks From Here, May 2024, marks the culmination of my Printmaking BFA at MICA.
From the artist statement:
"Through the lens of drawing, I seek to explore, document, and dramatize the every-day complexity and underappreciated ridiculousness of the urban environment that surrounds me: Baltimore. My work is on the one hand rooted in drawings of real places and memories of personal experiences, and on the other hand exaggerated, chaotic, staged. This contrast extends to my choice of print as a medium. Printmaking allows me to combine both direct and indirect forms of drawing— derived from sketchbooks, photographs, and even in situ marks made on the printing plate itself— into compositions that maintain the material traces of each layer. My goal is a subjective type of documentation that records my presence just as much as the scene itself.
My fascination with this city comes from its unfamiliarity. I grew up in Santa Barbara, California, where lazy suburban sprawl was matched by an equally laid-back West Coasttitude. With Baltimore came a different way of life: fast-paced, stressful, and more than a little gritty. Seeking to understand the place in which I live, I became an active pedestrian and flâneur, interpreting my surroundings through exploratory walks. The walks, my day-to-day, and my art practice all intertwined in a way that enabled me to lay roots in this city, and to prove that I was here."
Documentation follows.