In a society where nakedness is wrong, where nudity in public is illegal, we have become increasingly uncomfortable with the human body in its natural form.  Our children are taught that nudity is shameful, and their curiosity with others‚ bodies is hushed.  More often than not, this causes us to be ashamed of our bodies, leaving us more susceptible to the influences of the ever-present images of the social ideal form in the media.

In much of my work, I often push my own comfort levels with my body.  However, in those self-portraits, I am ultimately in control of the image presented to the viewer.  In reaction, I create large drawings of other people that push the comfort levels of others who are not in control of anyone or any imagery.  By asking individuals to literally dive into a pile of naked bodies, I ask them to trust both the other models and me.  A bond is formed between these strangers while their skin is pressed against each other, and again between them and me as I react to their bodies with the artwork.  They both acknowledge and dismiss each other's naked bodies.  It is my goal to record this tension between awkwardness and comfort-ability.  

Drawing is the most direct method I can use to depict images of the body.  I am attracted to the immediacy and permanence of the marks of drawing.  I use charcoal as a tool to create flesh, etched into paper in black and white.  The skin becomes part of the support on which it is drawn.  Drawing also acts as a recording of every mark, every mistake, and every note throughout the process; serving as a history of the work and a map of its creation.  Revealing this process hides nothing from the viewer as the physicality of the materials is heightened.  The work represents the very physical and guttural act of scraping marks across the paper, while presenting arousing, bodily, honest images enveloping the viewer.  These drawings stretch far beyond a figure study into stimulating, sensual, powerful objects. 

born:1980, Akron, OH

education:

Arizona State University, MFA, 2008
University of Akron, BFA, 2004

selected publications

QX.net Nude 25th Anniversary, Lexington, KY: Lexington Art League, 2011
Nude 2, Exhibition Catalogue, Cincinnati, OH: Manifest Press, p. 31-33, 2010
"The new Nude‚ is not the old Nude‚ - go figure", Reproduction and review by Castro, H. Lexington, KY: Lex Go, 2009

selected solo or two-person exhibits

(Upcoming) Illinois Central College, Gallery 305A, East Peoria, IL, 2011
Reveal, Arizona State University, Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ, 2008
Enviable Image: Ideal Form, Katherine Miracle Gallery, Akron, OH, 2004

selected group shows

33rd Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition, Bradley University, Heuser Art Gallery, Peoria, IL, 2011
New Works on Paper, Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2011
Americas 2011: Paperworks, Minot State University, Northwest Art Center, Minot, ND, 2011
Kink: The Seduction of Art, Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Culver City, CA, 2010