In order for students to feel comfortable with themselves, they must feel safe within their environment. Therefore, it is my personal goal to construct art and a space in which students are heard, advocated for, understood and most importantly, feel inspired.

Everyone deserves an equal chance at achieving success, and as an educator it is my job to set students up for reaching their goals regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality, or ethnicity. For this reason, my personal work highlights themes of sexual identity, childhood trauma, and exploring the inner workings of the human psyche.

My artist intention is to inspire others to connect with their own personal shortcomings and demons, as well as the identities they hide behind. I also believe that all mediums can express content differently, which is why my work varies with painting, ceramics, collage and photography.

I believe that success within art is not about becoming the best at technique or mastering mediums, but instead it is about being authentic. I want to teach my students to create with artistic intention and meaning. This starts with laying a foundation of understanding the art making process.  As a teacher, I want to educate my students on the importance of quantity before attaining quality. Making multiple works of art is much more beneficial than spending days or weeks on one work. Quantity allows for mistakes, and more importantly it helps students and artists to understand processes, leading to well-rounded work. These concepts are not limited to art making, but can also be applied to real life. 

I believe that in teaching art, I am also teaching lessons that can be carried on throughout a student’s academic career and personal life. Art can be reflected in so many areas of life, and it all starts with the influence of a great educator.