Content Warning: world events and mental health challenges
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I rarely share about my life beyond my immediate friends and family – even on social media platforms – but so much of what has happened affected my artistic practice.
In these past years, the world has felt like it exploded both publicly, with Covid, racial injustices, political instability, the Ukraine War, the Supreme Court rulings, and more, and personally. With the undercurrent of the events of 2020, I entered the world of education after a difficult conclusion to my undergraduate years at Mount Holyoke College.
Only to find that, after two intense academic years with little time for breaks, a year of online student teaching with a full courseload of virtual graduate courses took the last of my energy. I had little time and less energy to give to my art practice.
Little surprise given; I was burned out. I turned to healing the following year. I did make an art piece or two but chose not to share. At the time, I did not consider them to be a part of my journey through my practice with book art.
Now, that is no longer true. As I have reconnected with influential mentors, returned to nurturing environments, and re-entered the world of book making, I drew inspiration from ideas first developed in late 2020 and 2021.
I will be releasing an article dedicated to my works of 2021 along with an article for my latest artist book, created July 2022. I look forward to building on this momentum over the next few months and returning to my art practice.