The natural world, in particular the plant world, is central to how I orient myself as an artist. I rely on plants as a material source and as the basis for much of the conceptual underpinning of my work. I experience numerous parallels between the human and plant realms, in language and particularly in relation to geographic place and identity. Recurrent themes include migration, adaptation, diaspora, reconciliation, growth and transformation.

My approach is slow and labor-intensive, often involving processes that result in a radical transformation of natural materials prior to connecting them to specific ideas and forms. Natural fibers are at the center of these processes: wool, silk, wauke, cotton, and thread are felted, beaten, pulled, dyed, woven or crocheted. The characteristics of the fibers themselves offer layers of metaphor within my conceptually-based work.

I am inspired by the wisdom of ancestors, passed down through generations of artisans from distinct traditions — traditions that reflect my ethnic heritage (African-American & Finnish) and my geographic home (Hawai`i), where I first oriented myself in the world. The process of harvesting dye materials or making tapa from wauke — from growing and harvesting the plant, to the weeks of retting and beating the fibers — also provides me with a means of stepping into greater alignment with the natural world; and into an older relationship to time and way of being, which I value deeply. In these ways, my work straddles the lines between past and present, “fine art” and “craft”, and representation and abstraction.

Through the materiality and texture of various fibers, my work encourages a visceral and reflective response that invites the viewer to experience the inherent beauty and value of natural materials, to become curious about the artistic traditions that employ them, and to reflect on the deeper concepts held within each piece.

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An extended artist statement entitled “Negotiating the Ecology of Place” was published in Pacific Arts, Journal of the Pacific Arts Association, in 2021.