Since I was young, I have always enjoyed art. I have explored many different media over the years. Through college, I have taken classes for drawing, painting, sculpture, metal welding, paper making, ceramics, digital and black and white photography, lithography, silkscreen and digital printing. Many of my works are drawings or prints.
Life events have occasionally inspired ideas for some of my artwork. Depending on the situation, I find that expressing myself through my art can relieve tension or stress, both mentally and physically. What or how I am feeling at the time I am designing something reflects in my work. It effects every aspect of the piece, and creates variety throughout my work. An example is my place of employment which has been a recurring theme. I worked at a gas station for more than 2 years, and although I am not working there anymore, it still provides with many stories and ideas to work with. Many of the works I created on this subject offer a witty take on the situation, and also give a range of emotions.
For my works, I make a lot of small sketches. These beginnings of ideas sometimes go through many phases. Once I have achieved what I am going for, these sketches evolve into detailed drawings. Depending on the work, these are either colored by hand or scanned in onto a computer and manipulated digitally.
As for baking, I have always loved to bake. Cakes were fun, but my big event has been during the holidays, baking up to 40 dozen cookies to hand out to family and friends since I don't have much money. With art and baking school behind me, it has opened a new world of cake and pastry decorating, allowing me to get sculptural with treats.
Many times for the desserts I make for friends and family, I will sketch and get the details needed to complete the cakes, and then go to work. It is fairly straight forward once the plans are set, then its just a matter of baking, carving, and adding the final details. It is hard work, but it pays off in the end to see that my work has done well.
