​Twisted

Pulp made of the artist's clothing thrown at forms made of painted pine.
Contemporary Austin Crit Group Exhibition, grayDUCK Gallery. 2018.

As a 6-year-old, I can remember being dropped off on I-10 with a bag to collect aluminum cans to get recycled and turned into cash so we could eat. My mom would wait a mile or two down I-10 and we’d meet her there, my brothers and I. The road was far from the straight and narrow for me. Twisted is a visual representation of the path I took to get away from that. Those who are close to me will tell you that I am incapable of doing anything the simple way. I have to complicate and control everything in my life, it is reflective in most of my works. Trying to be free when creating these wooden sculptures was near impossible, but I let go when I started to throw pulp at them. The pulp is made out of my clothing that I cut into tiny pieces and then fed through a machine called a Hollander Beater to transition the fibers into pulp. I then grabbed the pulp and with emotion, I threw it at these sculptures that represent the paths I have taken. What I learned is that what we all have heard a time or two is true, sometimes the hard path is worth it.