I grew up in Vermont but now live in New Orleans where I attended Tulane University. My parents introduced me to acrylic paint when I was very young, but took a break until partway though college when I was SMACKED IN THE FACE by an URGENT NEED to paint portraits. While I was at Tulane, I worked in the ceramics department as a work-study and they graciously let me play around with clay and learn to use the medium. The first thing I made was a sculpture of a woman.

The abstract portraits are very new, I only started this style of art in 2019 after I put a pen down on the back of a paper menu I dug out of the recycling and there it was. An abstract portrait.

Most of my ceramic work is inspired by women, mainly myself. Yes, that sounds vain.

I began making ceramic pieces that look like me so that I would see art that looked like me. It reflects the shapes and lumps and bumps that I refuse to hate, despite being fed a constant stream of believing that I should. It is an act of self love. I create these pieces because they make me feel like I have worth and value and because the process of creation makes me happy.

I also make works not inspired by myself but just the female body/xx chromosome presenting features as a whole. It is a reflection of my own experiences in this body. I believe that everyone's experiences in femininity and womanhood are defined by them and only them. Creation of these pieces is a feminist statement and a way for me to have agency over my body and feel like there is value ascribed to a woman's body besides what it can do for a man. They are functional because a) I love when art can be incorporated into my daily life, and b) because it makes me feel useful as opposed to used.

Once they are in the hands of others, it is out of my control how people display them and choose to incorporate them into their life, but I choose to believe that they are valued, appreciated, and loved.

TL;DR: feminism, self love, my body is for me, Vermont, New Orleans.

Products with my art!! Stuff you can buy!!

The abstract portraiture lends itself well to fashion and homewares. My fashion brand is called Mimoi and you can buy clothing, homewares, and accessories on Threadless and Contrado and have them made to order and shipped right to you.

Mimoi is pronounced mee-mwah. Like Me in Spanish and then Me again but in French. Either way, its centered around (you guessed it) me.