I feel that both visual art and music transcend the limits of written and verbal communication through the minute nuances in the art that alter the commentary of the piece.  My work ties music, design, and my personal experience to specific songs and lyrics. I see it as a vessel of expression and communication told through the lens of my experiences in the form of design. By utilizing elements from both visual art and music, I aim to form dialogues and connections in a way that is impossible with only written or spoken words and imagery.

I see my work as self-portraiture through untraditional means. Some pieces fall into the category of self-portraiture more obviously than others, but I generally like to let the viewer get to know me through text, imagery, and song quotations before they know my face. I chose the songs referenced intuitively without dwelling on one playlist longer than others. Some songs had lived in my playlists for a decade and some I heard by the recommendation of a friend just the week before making art about them. If their lyrics were stuck in my head or touched me in a way other songs hadn’t, I worked them into my capstone.

 Lately, I’ve been trying to incorporate things into my work that get me excited about creating in the way I was when I first started making art, which has encouraged me to keep working with mixed media. Adding things like my handwriting, stickers, and found text helps layer meaning and intent in my work, similar to how musicians layer sounds.

I want my viewers to want to listen to the songs I appreciate but have different experiences listening to them and different experiences viewing my art. My work is easy to approach because people understand and relate to the experience of appreciating music, but the specific details in the work make it feel almost exclusionary. While I feel I am pouring my soul onto the canvas, it’s only myself who can fully understand my work and “correctly” interpret the subject and its significance. I make art with myself in mind as my target audience. I have the desire to show my work to people, but I don’t concern myself with their interpretations of my experiences.  

My work serves as a deeply personal dialogue between music and visual expression, capturing the nuances of my individual experiences. While I recognize my art resonates differently with each viewer, I hope it invites them to explore their connections to the songs and art presented. By layering personal significance and mixed media, I aim to create a body of work that feels vulnerable yet relatable, allowing viewers to navigate their own interpretations while connecting with the music that inspires me.