Statement

My practice pairs digital fabrication with traditional methods of making, harnessing the precision of computer-aided design and the nuance of the human hand. CNC milled architectural frames are filled variously with ceramic forms, tinted plaster and dyed linen. Sheets of painted paper are laser cut and woven together. With hyper-pigmented and hyper-matte surfaces, each material masquerades as the next: ceramic reading as textile reading as wood. Resulting panels are lush with color and rich with material process. These works order the organic, celebrating the intersection of ornament and architecture. 

I grew up in the Cajun culture of southern Louisiana, a community steeped in celebration. The surrounding landscape is dominated by water, and ancient decorative motifs have living counterparts. The palmette, a traditional plant-based design, has personal significance: dark green palmettos circled the cypress swamp behind my grandparents’ house. When my grandfather passed, we covered his casket with palmetto fronds and Spanish moss; when I was married in the swamp, my cousins carried palmettos to the altar. We lived near the Mississippi River, a force pinned in place by a series of levees and dams. In ornamental design, a powerful river is tamed into a meander: a symmetrical border, predictable and pleasing. I’m drawn to the flattening of these natural elements, and the power they still hold. I pair these decorative designs with architectural forms like the arch, reframing what I consider sacred. Rather than serving a supporting role as background or border, these decorative motifs are the illuminated figure in the plane. With vibrant colors and rich surfaces, the pieces pulse with a strange energy, becoming forms at once familiar and new.