Up until undergraduate and graduate school, I saw the world through my paternal grandmother’s and father’s lens.  Their story, upbringing, and values impacted how I interacted with myself, people, and the world.  In many ways, I felt like I did not have an identity, and art was a way for me to build upon me.

My father passed away in 2015, and it was probably one of the hardest things I had to endure.  Losing a parent is a different type of loss, and it was something that I did not know how to cope with at the time.

I coped in a way that I knew best, which was embarking on a quest to see something beautiful, primarily through traveling.  From 2015 to 2016, I traveled so much that I was overloaded with images, experiences, and interactions.  During that time, I noticed that my perspective on life changed, and despite all the hardships, I saw the world as something beautiful.

I think of life in stories, themes, and patterns.  My father’s words, values, and story are always a part of me when I capture an image.  In many ways, each image created, I hope to bring it to life similar to my father’s story.