At arm’s length speaks to societal and bodily responses to unwanted but essential elements of our environment. Specifically, my research links societal attitudes toward poison ivy to those toward migrants and marginalized groups.

Great things happen when human beings come together for a shared purpose. As language equips us to make meaning of our world, the tools we use in our daily lives help to nurture ourselves and serve others. They connect us to one another, holding within them community, culture and Craft. Through forging spoons, I explore the various manifestations of the tool both literal and metaphorical. As I engage in a dance with my material, the form reveals itself to be a symbol of growth, connection and nourishment.

On December 1st, 2018, I shattered a bone in my left ring finger. Exactly six months later, when the last of three surgical pins were removed from my hand, I celebrated with a tiny party hat for my finger. That insistence on finding hope and joy in brokenness is the essence of this work. Items destined for the trash- furniture, magazines, junk mail, scrap fabric- are given care and attention that celebrates their pasts and gives them a new life in the present. Instead of merely repairing or restoring, I am reimagining these objects. They don’t look like they did before because my care and attention have fundamentally changed them, like love always does. This is a party about joy, and the things that have changed us and hurt us and made that joy mean something. This party is for all of us, the ones who made it this far. This party is for you.

This thesis explores the intersection of nature, memory, and sculpture through the medium of clay. Drawing on my experiences growing up on a farm, I create representations of natural forms that evoke a deep sense of self-identity and belonging. Using hand-building and coil-building techniques, I shape intricate, dynamic sculptures that balance visual softness with physical hardness, creating an illusion of imminent movement. These large-scale works invite viewers into a playful tension, suggesting a secret, animated existence just beyond perception. The process of collecting and indexing natural forms allows me to recreate and reimagine my childhood experiences, transforming them into a new, imaginative world. My work is driven by a desire to escape reality and discover what elements of the natural world foster a sense of belonging. I weave together past and future narratives into a singular, timeless moment that encompasses the feeling I’ve been chasing my entire adult life, the feeling that created my thesis show “Hiding Place”.

Paubha (pau- painting, bha- cotton canvas), this ancient tradition of art has deep religious and spiritual meaning for both practitioners and viewers. It often depicts themes from Buddhism and Hinduism in detail, serving as a tool for contemplation and spiritual growth. Additionally, paubha is vital for preserving Nepal's cultural and religious heritage. Many artists are driven by a commitment to protect its authenticity and spiritual significance rather than pursuing it for commercial gain. However, the future of Paubha painting encounters substantial challenges. Some Paubha artists believes that Modernization, changing artistic preferences, and the difficulty of passing on the intricate skills needed for Paubha have sparked worries about its continuity. Presently, there are fewer practitioners than in earlier generations, emphasizing the need for our joint efforts to guarantee the legacy of this beloved tradition.

If idle hands are considered the devil’s workshop, the objects I craft would ornament its brimstone mantel. Through parody, I reimagine religious ceremonial objects that question the traditional beliefs and qualities attributed to leading a good life. My juvenile urges and reluctance to be a “productive” member of society are fuel for making work that honors the taboo and self-gratifying impulses of getting high, masturbating, overindulging in screen time, and staying in bed. By crafting these ritualistic objects, I aim to validate the need to disengage from a culture that expects devotion to the daily grind.

This paper outlines my studio research, material investigations, processes, and the development of finished artworks in my thesis exhibition – Intimate. Immensity. This research, and the subsequent collection of ceramic sculptures, is a study of materiality and the body: how material processes echo personal transformation and growth. I discuss material engagement as essential research methodology in my experimental studio practice and the critical role of curiosity and play to the development of my unique visual language.

This collaborative project with artificial intelligence (AI) began as a playful curiosity about AI text-to-image generators, namely Midjourney. Artificial intelligence represents a broad field of computer science focused on creating intelligent machines capable of mimicking human cognitive functions. Within the field of AI, generative artificial intelligence specializes in generating content, such as images or text, often based on given prompts or patterns. Two noteworthy examples within this domain – and the resources I used for my research – are ChatGPT and MidJourney. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a powerful language model that generates contextually relevant text responses based on textual input. Its capabilities extend to engaging in conversations, answering queries, and even providing creative outputs. MidJourney, on the other hand, is a text-to-image generator that transforms textual prompts into visual representations. As part of my artistic exploration, I engaged with both ChatGPT and MidJourney, tapping into their capabilities to collaborate on the creation of thought-provoking and visually compelling works that push the boundaries of human-machine interaction and artistic expression.

Intimate Exchanges represents the culmination of a journey from embodied material investigation to devotional artmaking as a refuge for the body. This project has its origins in my research of phenomenology, ritual theory, and queer intimacy. The action of touch is central both to acts of intimacy as well as the field of phenomenology which promotes embodied perception. Some creative mediums have a greater intimacy of touch in the process of their making and for me, printmaking is one of those mediums. After a brief introduction to natural dyes, I was pulled in by their potential for embodied investigation and created a methodology to turn my body and its movements into the printing mechanism, further enhancing the embodiment of printmaking.

**This thesis deals with the topic of sexual abuse. Please take care of yourself.** Transcendence is an exploration of faith and Catholicism, and the traumatic impact of institutional sex abuse. This body of work consists of a handmade book, thirteen Instax photos, three collages, and an ambient sound piece. It is the culmination of my time spent in the Masters program at SUNY New Paltz and was exhibited at the December 2022 MFA/BFA show at the Samuel Dorsky Museum. In Transcendence I dissect the wound the priest of my parish inflicted on me, uncovering an inextricable connection between pain and pleasure. Gifts used for grooming an altar boy turn into subversive weapons in a series of instant film photos. Images used to promote the archbishop and the church are cut and reassembled to visualize the living hell I have seen and felt. Representations of faith are cut and reassembled to visualize the living hell I have seen and felt.