My artwork derives from childhood memories and experiences. Growing up, I lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, surrounded by a wide diversity of people and environments from the island and off. While living on a military base and being near my family, I experienced both worlds, traditional with my family's background and nontraditional being a military kid living on a base. During my time living in Hawaii, my papa passed away. Shortly after his death my immediate family and I moved. In response, my work focuses on the grief, healing, and memories that are associated with his passing in the hope of further understanding myself and reliving those moments.
As I digest who I am, these intricate worlds from my past overlap with my present. Influenced by my environments, I narrate my memories and experiences by reproducing familiar objects and shapes in metal. Utilizing inexpensive materials for my work I confront ideas of value and preciousness. I explore narrative and memory through metal materials in the form of jewelry. Permanence, weight, and aging are qualities of metal that parallel my developing interpretations of personal experiences over time. Visual tension of delicate, feminine, and simplified shapes reflects the relationships of my identity.
