Glancing Inward

Since I started my Academic Career at Albany State University I have been in a constant state of growth. Self growth is the underlying current the connects every self portrait in this first group of pieces. Our ability to grow and mature emotionally is rooted in our ability to see ourselves clearly. How often do we hate the person in the mirror? What trauma do we hold onto? How do we accept the ugly part of ourselves. How do we love ourselves past our flaws and forgive ourselves for the mistakes we made when we didn’t know any better. It’s in answering questions similar to these that help us understand how to avoid staying stagnant. Always moving toward a sharpened version of ourselves.

Women
of
​COLOR

When I first attempted to draw a women with a reference photo I was pretty young. Maybe twelve or thirteen. I typed the word ”Woman” into google and immediately realized that if I wanted to see a woman that resembled my sister or mother I was going to have to be more specific. This meant using phrases like “Black Woman” or “African American Woman” in the search bar which honestly only took a couple more seconds. It’s not much of a hassle but, It taught me something that shaped the purpose of my art.
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I learned that the culture of the internet at that time ousted Black women from the generic category for all women. Making them harder to find, and absent from the view of those who didn’t think to seek them out specifically. I decided then that I’d always find space within my work to create images of the women who were being silenced or pushed to the margins by society in a figurative sense.

​Graphic Design

Towards the end of my academic career at Albany State University I got very comfortable with different graphic design softwares allowing me to expand my style into a more refined and detail oriented spaces. This allowed me to gain experience in logo/branding work, flyers and posters.