Artist Statement 

        

          We all have those moments when we want to disconnect from physical reality in some way. I create art as an escape from and a solution to the problems of the world today. I spill my emotions, my thoughts and dreams, onto a blank canvas or computer screen. Through my imagination and utilization of multiple mediums, I build and manipulate a better world to come. I give life to inanimate objects with the stroke of my pencil or the click of a mouse.

 

          Being a child of the 90’s, every Saturday morning I watched cartoons and played video games religiously. Animation and video games are what inspired me to draw and become an artist in the first place. Although I still create and appreciate traditional ways to produce artwork, I now also produce those 2D creations as 3D models, digital paintings and animations using cutting edge digital software and hardware tools. I want to use all of my artistic skills to make immersive and interactive environments for viewers/participants to experience. Even though I am influenced by commercial animation and video game companies, such as Disney, Kalsky Csupo, Pixar, Adventure Company, Sony, Crystal Dynamics, and Konami; I want to push the boundaries of the medium to subvert stereotypes, play on 2D vs 3D illusions and create meaningful storylines/concepts. 

 

          I hope to reinvent cartoons and video games to have them both be entertaining and educational. Being a female and of ethnic background, I create characters with actual ethnic characteristics, personalities, talents and skills of those around me, while desexualizing the female figure. I am very much interested in social issues and how it affects the average person on a micro to macro level. Consequently, I am inspired by my everyday life and surroundings. My characters are very much relatable and go beyond the norm to produce a new feel. They have the essence of real ordinary people that can seemingly do extraordinary things in the game by embracing what makes them different instead of being ashamed of that very characteristic.