ARTIST STATEMENT

CV

Education

2022 In progress to Master of Fine Arts, Winthrop University, Rockhill, SC

2018 Bachelors of Art in Painting, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

2016 Accademia del Arte, Arezzo, Italy, Summer Program

Exhibitions

2021 Intergalactic Open 2, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA

2020 Visiting Artist of the Month, Seacoast Artists Gallery, Myrtle Beach, SC

Art at a Distance-American Life in Isolation, Art Works, Richmond, VA

Go Figure! SAA Collective Gallery Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL

Water & Oil, William H. Miller Studios, Myrtle Beach, SC

Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum’s 9th Annual Collectors’ Event, Collector’s Café and Gallery, Myrtle Beach, SC

2019 Reclaimed! Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Fayetteville, NC

Perspectives: America, Specto Art Space, Harrisonburg, VA

Real People 2019, Old Courthouse Arts Center, Woodstock, IL

Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum’s 8th Annual Collectors’ Event, Collector’s Café and Gallery, Myrtle Beach, SC

2018 Senior Exhibition, Coastal Carolina University, SC

Awards, Fellowships, Honors

SP 2018 Cum Laude, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

2016-2018 Phi Sigma Pi Honor Fraternity, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

SP 2015-

SP 2017 Dean's List, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC FA 2017 President's List, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

Bibliography (Reviews and Features)

Upcoming- Winthrop University The Anthology

WPDE News Channel 13, review of leading KidsArt Programing and COVID-19 adaptations. (multiple interviews through WPDE),

“Education Corner with Tracey Roode and Devann Gardner”. Villa Voice, December 2019,

Kisner, Joshua, “Myrtle Beach Art Museum hires CCU alumna as new art educator”. The Horry Independent Business Journal, July 1, 2019,

Morgan, Janet, "Coastal Carolina University students paint mural in North Myrtle Beach", The Sun News, June 20, 2017,

Professional Experience

2020 Private Academic Tutor due to COVID-19, Elementary - College level, Myrtle Beach, SC

2019-2020 Children’s Art Educator, Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC

2019-2020 Private Fine Arts Tutor, ages 5-15 across Myrtle Beach- North Myrtle Beach and Conway, SC areas.

2019 Painting Assistant to Sculptor Jim Swaim, Longs, SC

2018 Art Education Intern, Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC

2018 Painting Instructor, Wine and Design, North Myrtle Beach, SC

2017 North Myrtle Beach Masonic Lodge Mural, Collaboration with ARTS 499 class, Under the instruction of Cat Taylor, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

Related Experience

SP 2016 Life Drawing Model, ARTS 212 under the instruction of Treelee MacAnn, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

FA 2017- SP 2016 Art History Tutor, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

My work explores the malleability of memory through experiencing the warped sense of nostalgia. My study of memory has uncovered that no matter how unique or specified it is, the provoked feeling of nostalgia is universally recognized. Nostalgia stems from the Greek roots; “nos” meaning “to return” and “algia” meaning “suffering”. It is the bittersweet feeling of remembering the past, happy moments and the pain of not being able to return or relive those moments.

Childhood memories are dishonest and manipulative, clouded by the levity and lighthearted perspective. When analyzed with the knowledge of lived experiences, the meaning of that memory is completely changed. The mind makes emotional connections to a span of time rather than an actual event and that is why childhood tends to be remembered so fondly overall. I provoke an enticing sense of comfort to mimic nostalgia’s yearning, but I layer the sense of discomfort within each work to shift the perspective back and forth creating a dialogue between memory and reality. What we yearn to go back to is not real, but we can make it be now.

I use video and audio clips in combination with paintings, sculptures, installations and performance pieces to create an incessant feeling of anxiety. I investigate the reactions of the viewers through my use of unconventional materials, distortion of scale, and recognizable iconography. I push the aspects of childhood whimsy to its extreme to recreate the sense of wonder possessed by children and add the effects of anxiety and worry possessed by adults.

I explore what we trust most; our own memory. Memory is the foundation of our identities, and I expose its dishonesty by creating environments of intense discomfort. The worry and anxiety that goes hand in hand with adult responsibilities is gained through the act of growing up and metaphorically packing away your childhood toys, you are closing the trunk on the unedited mindset of childhood. However, opening it back up can change the way we view the present.

CV AND ARTIST STATEMENT