My favorite mediums to work with are traditional oil paints, india ink, and textiles. Experimentation with textures is one of my favorites at the moment. I love to hand stitch textile collages and create imagery that really elicits a sense of movement with a biomorphic nature. With oil painting, I like to combine realism with abstracted forms and contrasting colors. For ink, I really like high definition and intense imagery to cause a sense of discomfort. I am equally in love with these mediums.

I take a large amount of inspiration from nature for my textiles, and from my head for my ink and oil paint. As someone who struggles with their mental and physical health, I use my work as an outlet to be able to process my life. I also take a lot of inspiration from both music and from emotions. I feel very deeply, and I get inspired by things that make me feel, whether that’s positive emotions or negative. I create the most when I have the largest feelings, so I stay in tune with myself.

With $25,000, I would set a large amount aside for graduate school. I am currently getting my bachelor’s in Studio Arts, and my goal is to continue on to graduate school to be able to expand my education further, and to be able to become a professional artist and college professor. I would also set a nice chunk into my retirement account and savings. I have a hard time working a traditional job due to chronic health problems, so I would also use this to officially start my career as an artist.