Artist Statement
Communication is more than oral. In the Caribbean it is also our culture, without it we lose - ourselves, our connection to each other. Speech is only a part of the process. It is in our body language and gestures, our food, our dialect, our trauma, history and traditions never written but always passed down. We communicate with every bit of ourselves and in every area of life.
The basis of my work is inspired by the cultural traditions and people of the Caribbean Islands and the indissoluble mark left on the region by European Colonialism. While holding onto what we have left and celebrating the present we have made because of it. My search highlights the hidden remnants of a past life, and people. In a world where they were stripped of their culture, taught to despise self and tout a more palatable repackaged version. Their presence is proof of the power, strength and need for survival. The purpose of my work is to halt and reverse the othering of ourselves. By enshrining the knowledge held by the people and objects that hold parts of our ignored and devalued past. By accepting all parts of ourselves in its raw natural state we breed respect for the unrecorded.
My work further explores the weight of cultural identity and traditions as it relates to women of the African diaspora. Focusing on matriarchal ties, it refers to women as the keepers of knowledge and their parallels to the vessels both in practicality and significance. Using a contemporary standpoint, these pieces incorporate traditional Afro-Caribbean practices of making functional ware, low-fire finishes and decorative techniques, with representational figures in memoriam of the traditions kept and passed down.
Artist CV
Education
BA in Art | May 2019 | Millersville university
AA in Graphic Design | June 2013 | Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology
Work Experience
Digital Marketing Associate | Sensationnel, Hairzone Inc. | July 2020 - July 2022
Photoshoot Production
Social Media Management
Influencer Management
Video Editing and Image Retouching
Artist Instructor | GoggleWorks Center for the Arts | November 2019 - March 2020
Teach Workshops for Adults and Children
Loading and Firing Kilns
General Studio Upkeep
Print Production Assistant | Superior Tech | March 2018- September 2019
Email Marketing
Instruction Manual Layout
Product Package Design
Product Photography and Retouching
Product Video Production
Work Exchange | GoggleWorks Center for the Arts | November 2018 - November 2019
Studio Tech | Millersville University Ceramics Studio | March 2017 - May 2019
Graphic Design Intern |Turkey Hill Dairy | May - August 2016, May - December 2017
Design Intern | Macy Advertising | March - November 2015
Graphic Designer | Antigua Public Utilities Authority | August 2013 - December 2014
Awards and Scholarships
Thaddeus Mosley Scholarship - Touchstone Center for Craft - 2019
Winners Circle Award - 11th Annual Juried Student Exhibition Millersville University - 2019
Works Study Scholarship - Penland School Of Craft - 2018
Works Study Scholarship - Haystack Mountain School of Craft - 2018
Publications
“Art and Culture” Featured Artist; Simply Antigua Barbuda 2019 Hotel Room and Coffee Table Tourism Guide December 2018: page 262. Print.
“Relative Mis-interaction” Made In Millersville Journal 2018 Online Publication.
Shows and Exhibitions
Solo show
The Being, The body, The Vessel - Case Show Swift Gallery Millersville PA, 2019
Group Shows
The Things We Carry - Eutectic Gallery, Portland OR 2021
Astro American - GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading PA 2020
Dare Small - The Cluster Gallery, Brooklyn NY 2019
Listen - Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley PA 2019
11th Annual Juried Student Exhibition Millersville University - Sykes Gallery, Millersville PA, 2019
Keystone Clay; East - Baltimore Clay works, Baltimore MD 2019
Art Fairs and Festivals
Hoboken Art and Music Festival, Hoboken NJ 2021
22 Annual Rose Squared Art at Brookdale Park Montclair NJ 2021
Emerging Artist - 43rd Annual Long's Park Art Festival, Lancaster PA 2021
Heart of Lancaster Craft Show, Lancaster 2021
Volunteering and Community Arts
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Virtual Conference 2020 Attendee
Millersville University Slip and Score Society Ceramics Club Officer 2017-2019
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference Minneapolis MA 2019 Attendee
Strictly Functional National Pottery Show 2018 volunteer
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference Pittsburgh PA 2018 Attendee
Strictly Functional National Pottery Show 2017 volunteer