UC San Diego

I have been on a journey to shed old, narrow habits and find broader approaches to my artistic processes, leading to a complete redefinition of myself as an artist and collaborator. In the past, I spent much time setting myself firm rules for designs, which proved constricting. At UCSD I tried to shake off these patterns, discovering avenues for intuitive exploration.

Found-object sculpture and puppet-creation became important to me as new arts in which to approach design. I took first steps in digital media design as well, discovering ways of working in collaboration beyond costume--reaching out to the environment of performance as a whole. Just as a puppet reaches out from its puppeteer, so too I believe projections have the ability to expand a show. "The Fantasy Project" gave me the opportunity to explore this, developing a language in which the ephemera of projection worked seamlessly within the tactility of dance.

I have found ways to apply my discoveries to costume: seeking a "softer process" approach; allowing language to develop organically and the design to follow. Through conversation, new research, and allowing intuition to have a voice in my decisions, I found the designs for "Titus Andronicus" emerging naturally and powerfully.

My practices in different design areas interact with each other, borderless. Just as I have learned to approach design with a more fluid and intuitively available awareness, so too has this fluidity permeated my conception of myself as an art-maker. I will continue from this grounding in expansion.