ARTIST STATEMENT
Friday, September 26, 2014. This is a date that will forever be engraved in my memory, as the events of this day have greatly impacted and shaped my life and who I am as an individual functioning in this world. It was discovered, after many scans and tests (and much waiting), that a tumor the size of a walnut was pushing against my optic nerves, causing my vision to slowly tunnel. Thankfully, the tumor was not cancerous, and it was successfully removed from my head.
However, I was left with irreversible damage to my vision: about a thirty-degree deficit on both side the left and right sides of my spectrum of sight. This, in turn, makes certain aspects of life difficult, such as having to turn a little more than the average person because of not being able to see out of the corner of my eye; getting scared at the slightest sound, which seems to come from the abyss because you cannot see where it's coming from; and, something most vital to an individual's life, the debate on whether or not I can hold a driver's license. The latter has been one of great turmoil and discussion.
The following portfolio of work has been created via multiple forms of media--drawing, clay (Electric kiln fired and Raku fired), and beadwork--and explores the journey I have been on since Fall 2014 and how said events have affected my life, as well as my outlook on these events and their repercussions. The creation of this body of work has also been a great form of therapy and stress-relief, as these events are still, to some degree, fresh and prevalent in my mind, as well as a means for me to explain to the general populace an event that can be, at times, hard to describe and express in a truly relatable manner.
PORTFOLIO LINK
Forthcoming.
Friday, September 26, 2014. This is a date that will forever be engraved in my memory, as the events of this day have greatly impacted and shaped my life and who I am as an individual functioning in this world. It was discovered, after many scans and tests (and much waiting), that a tumor the size of a walnut was pushing against my optic nerves, causing my vision to slowly tunnel. Thankfully, the tumor was not cancerous, and it was successfully removed from my head.
However, I was left with irreversible damage to my vision: about a thirty-degree deficit on both side the left and right sides of my spectrum of sight. This, in turn, makes certain aspects of life difficult, such as having to turn a little more than the average person because of not being able to see out of the corner of my eye; getting scared at the slightest sound, which seems to come from the abyss because you cannot see where it's coming from; and, something most vital to an individual's life, the debate on whether or not I can hold a driver's license. The latter has been one of great turmoil and discussion.
The following portfolio of work has been created via multiple forms of media--drawing, clay (Electric kiln fired and Raku fired), and beadwork--and explores the journey I have been on since Fall 2014 and how said events have affected my life, as well as my outlook on these events and their repercussions. The creation of this body of work has also been a great form of therapy and stress-relief, as these events are still, to some degree, fresh and prevalent in my mind, as well as a means for me to explain to the general populace an event that can be, at times, hard to describe and express in a truly relatable manner.
PORTFOLIO LINK
Forthcoming.