ARTWORK

UICCU's BENCHMARKS 6.0 2017

Iowa City Downtown District

This nationally recognized public art program was back for its 6th and final year. For 2017, the program continued with 20 benches – found throughout downtown Iowa City – completed by local artists chosen by a panel of judges. The theme for BenchMarks 6.0 was left open.

My bench, titled, "The Journey" was conceptualized as a response to the political climate at the time. No matter what a person's journey is, they are welcome here and they belong. I wanted to convey this concept as simply as possible, making it bright, colorful, and innocent — like the work of a child's. Graphic, exaggerated, blue waves ebb and flow with a rainbow wave among them carrying a small, delicate, white paper boat. The concept was inspired by my family's journey from overseas as refugees during the Vietnam War. The bench received honorable mentions.

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UICCU's BENCHMARKS 5.0 2016

Iowa City Downtown District

BenchMarks was the first participatory public art project championed by the ICDD as part of the Community Gallery Program. The theme for BenchMarks 5.0 was "metamorphosis". The concept of this bench came about because I wanted people to be aware of climate change and how the monarch migration is affected by that change.

This bench shows the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly from caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly — layered and collaged on top of each other to create an abstracted final image. I hoped it would provoke people to think about their own meaning of change. It’s location could not have been more perfect. It was situated in front of Iowa City’s downtown community garden. It was voted 2nd place for People's Choice.

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BETWEEN EVERY TWO PINES

As a thank you gift to everyone who helped us along our two-week road trip to the Pacific Northwest, my partner and I hand-bound 8 books comprised of a little less than 90 pages of our favorite photos form the trip. The images were encased in a hard cover that we screen printed with our hand-drawn illustrations that reminded us of our time in the PNW. Read more about the process on my blog.

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OUTRAGED, ENGAGED, ACTIVE

In response to the 2016 administration, I screen printed two styles of t-shirts. For one style, I encouraged my friends to write a few words/reasons why they were outraged during that political climate. The different handwritten responses are representative of the concerns shared by countless individuals. For the other style, the t-shirt read, "outraged, engaged, active" — a reflection of how I see our nation absorbing all of Trump's early executive orders.

80% of proceeds were donated directly to the Syrian Emergency (through the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)), while the other 20% covered costs for materials and shipping. Over $700 was raised through this project!

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ILLUSTRATION

I’ve been doodling since I could pick up a pen. I remember being that one kid in grade school that always had more scribbles in the margins of their notebook than notes on a page. I loved all of my art classes and to this day there is rarely a time I do not want to create.

My drawing style varies greatly but what I am most drawn to is the crisp precision of line work.

See What I've Been Up To!

Collections:
"Cutting Fruit" | The Daily Palette | Iowa City, IA | February 2016

Publications:
Little Village's Annual Bread and Butter Venue Guide | Iowa City, IA | 2018
New Pioneer Food Co-op's Catalyst | Iowa City, IA | Spring 2017
New Pioneer Food Co-op's Catalyst | Iowa City, IA | Winter 2017
Little Village's Annual Bread and Butter Venue Guide | Iowa City, IA | 2016
"Cultural Incompetency: Racist Yik Yak posts target Asian students on UI campus" University of Iowa International Programs via Little Village Magazine | Iowa City, IA | October 26, 2015
"Cultural Incompetency: Racist Yik Yak posts target Asian students on UI campus" Little Village Magazine| Iowa City, IA | October 23, 2015
Little Village's Annual Bread and Butter Venue Guide | Iowa City, IA | 2015

Artwork