2025
Acrylic, watercolor, indigo dye, pencil, canvas, muslin, and paper on panel
30"x30"
DOES THIS MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU? is a mixed-media collage that confronts the viewer with the chaotic dissonance often felt by neurodivergent individuals navigating a world that prioritizes verbal communication and conventional modes of knowledge. Using acrylic, watercolor, indigo dye, pencil, canvas, muslin, and paper on panel, the piece visually expresses the fragmentation and confusion imposed by norms around speaking and traditional forms of interaction. Inspired by Franz Fanon’s critique of masking and his belief in the inherent violence of decolonization, the work challenges the pressure on neurodivergent people to hide their true selves to fit in, urging resistance and self-empowerment. Through its bold and confrontational design, DOES THIS MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU? prompts viewers to reflect on their complicity in systems that marginalize and silence neurodivergence. The question it asks is intentionally ambiguous, leaving space for interpretation—both as a challenge and a curiosity—inviting viewers to consider how visual knowledge resonates with them and whether they truly connect with it.
Untitled 1 + Untitled 2
2025
9"x12", Acrylic and watercolor on panel
Untitled 1 and Untitled 2 capture quiet, shared moments between two children on a journey, both physically and emotionally, as they ride a train. The paintings evoke a sense of anticipation, reflecting the hope of reaching a destination where belonging and understanding are not dependent on verbal communication, but are formed through shared presence. Painted in watercolor, the pieces emphasize vulnerability, with light and color symbolizing the potential for connection and hope.
Originally conceived as a guerrilla public intervention, these works were displayed in bathrooms—spaces where verbal communication is absent—allowing for an experience free from the influence of socially dominant knowledge norms. Photographs of these paintings, installed in public bathrooms around the SDSU campus, are included to highlight this installation approach. This method fosters an intimate, non-verbal encounter, drawing attention to the emotional and sensory depth of the works in spaces often overlooked or marginalized.
Inspired by the work of postcolonial theorist Gayatri Spivak, these pieces use the metaphor of travel to explore the tension between isolation and connection. Spivak’s concept of the "subaltern" invites us to reflect on whose voices are heard and whose are silenced in spaces dominated by verbal norms. Untitled 1 and Untitled 2 encourage viewers to consider the importance of non-verbal forms of knowledge—sensory (including visual and kinesthetic), intuitive, innate, and communal—as pathways to connection and belonging.
2023
Watercolor, acrylic, gouache, pencil, pen, and ink on found paper
8 x 6 inches (12 pieces)
What is life like on the margins?
This mixed media series explores the unique gifts and challenges of life on the margins for the plants and people who live there. Halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) and autistic people both live on the margins and face constant bombardment from toxic stimuli, yet find unique strategies to regulate and survive. While these outsiders are sensitive and at risk, they are also critically important to future life on earth. Who else is absorbed by the unknown and can help us navigate it?
2022
Mixed media on found paper
10.5 x 8.5 inches (7 pieces)
2022
Fabric and binding combs
26”x8”x4”; 18”x8”x4”; 11”x5.5”x4”
This installation explores group identity by elaborating on the creation and erosion of social constructs over time. The variety of fabrics reflects the multiplicity within the autistic community and considers how neurodiversity might mirror biodiversity.
2018
Watercolor, acrylic, pencil, pen, and ink on found paper
8.5 x 5.5 inches (8 pieces)
An autobiographical series exploring the themes of identity and relationship in early motherhood. Created with mixed media, this celestial landscape is full of discovery, fear, hope, loss, and celebration.
2022
Digital photographs
Dimensions variable
An ongoing series of photographs of halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) taken around San Diego, CA. These images explore the plants' unique characteristics that allow them to survive in such harsh environments. They also serve as research and inspiration for future mixed media artwork.
2022
Digital photographs
Dimensions variable
A series of photographs taken at San Elijo Lagoon
2019-2020
Watercolor, charcoal, and pencil on paper
8 x 5 inches, 8 x 10 inches, and 16 x 10 inches
Series of three mixed media pieces exploring the effect of time on a mother’s relationships with her young children.
2012
Mixed media on paper
22.5 x 15 inches (9 pieces)
This series was commissioned by Whitworth University and installed in the Chapel Reception during the Spring of 2012. Each mixed media piece accompanies a teaching on a miracle from Mark's Gospel in the Bible.
Four pieces from the series reside in Whitworth University's Permanent Collection and are currently hung at various locations on campus.
2011
Charcoal, chalk, ebony, pencil, watercolor, acrylic, and ink on printed photographs mounted on board
5 x 12 inches (6 pieces)
This series is an expansion of “Ars Moriendi” (The Art of Dying). Building on the concept of dying that occurs in the season of fall, “Ars Dormiendi” (The Art of Sleeping) examines the serenity that accompanies such death in the winter. Both series experiment with communicating ideas and expressing emotions through photography.
2011
Charcoal, ink, paint, chalk, pastel and pencil on original photos
11 x 17 inches (9 pieces)
In this series, various mediums act as the editing process on original photos. The handmade marks add a sense of expressivity that the unedited photographs lacked. These marks push the audience to explore the physical and emotional impact of death.
