Life Choices

Choosing to pursue art was not an easy decision. I initially moved out to Utah to persue a degree in nursing. I was passionate about learning and was reading anything I could get my hands on in relation to the field of medicine. In freshman year I could often be caught spouting out randomly generated medical facts, much to my roommate’s annoyance. This was the beginning of what I thought my life would be like.

After getting deeper into medicine I learned one crucial fact: I don’t like death. I do not like dealing with dying people, I do not like dealing with dead people, and I do not like dealing with dead people’s families. I like the excitement, the adrenaline rush, and the clear mind that comes with trauma and emergencies. The rest I like to avoid.

So I looked for a plan B. I thought about majoring in History or English but I eventually settled on Art. Art has always been a passion of mine and in the end I couldn’t avoid it. When I started art I dabbled in my various classes until I finally found my voice. Surprisingly enough, my voice sounded surprisingly similar to the voice I had when I started college art.

Over time I started to recognize this voice, this common trend in my artwork. I focused heavily on anatomy. I focused on depicting the muscle structures and connective tissue, the way the body is held together. I focused on bones and tissues as a way to express my thoughts and ideas. The human body was my subject and I found that it could say much more than I had previously imagined.

There are a lot of choices that I’ve made to get me to where I am. Some were small and insignificant the time while others lead me in a direction that I hadn’t anticipated. I’m thankful for all of those choices for where they have gotten me and look forward to see where I am going next.

Below are a few pieces from my BFA Thesis project that are heavily inspired by SCIENCE and medicine.