“The research I get to perform around the subjects of my vessels is honestly as exciting as the thrill I get from making them.”

“I find it inspiring and exciting to continue to learn and challenge myself. An artist is never through exploring and learning.”

“By using local rocks and minerals, harvested by my own hand or the hands of my fellow Arkansans, I make my work inherently connected to the land and its people.”

“I think that the approach to the creative process that works best for me is one that allows the image to become what it wants to be.”

“I have a lot of fun with my art practice. My humor and light heartedness flow into my creativity and community engagement, which circulate back into my purpose, intention, and thoroughness as a practicing artist.”

“My work is always based on moments of lived experience. A lot of how I choose what I paint is just by slowing down and thinking about a moment or a sensation I want to zoom in on.”

“It is so important to let things go from the heart onto the canvas or onto paper. I feel like the process allows me to let other things in.”

“I want to use my artistic platform to try and reason with and educate others about the harm of intertwining religion with the state.”

“There was always something thrilling about taking a material and pushing it in a direction that was never intended. The unpredictability of the results would lead down many unique paths as I reacted to their nature.”

“I look back to the very small town I grew up in and the county lifestyle I was raised in and here I am today. How many people can say they look forward to going to work and do what they love and love what they do.”

"I find the process of making my work to be more rooted in cultivating a space for exploration and care. The act of making becomes a time of reflection for me – a space to feel fully present."

"I loved many art forms growing up from music, theater, literature, to ballet. But by the time I graduated from high school, I decided I wanted more of a normal life, so I went back to my first love of visual art."

"The people in my creative vision are ALL types of people. I try to be inclusive and expressive to show that diversity and inclusivity are absolutely necessary."

"I really hope that people see what I see in my work. I love every painting I do and I find beauty in almost everything. God has been so good to me!"

"The challenge for me is thinking creatively and putting to canvas ideas that I've been carrying around mentally. It has been a grand journey and hopefully I can continue to learn and grow, not take myself too seriously, and have fun."

“I create art to preserve my heritage and initiate conversations around societal and cultural issues that countercultures and African Americans are experiencing.”

“…when I take the photograph, it’s not only how I am looking at my subject but how they are looking at me. It’s that psychological connection I’m trying to catch.”

“As a Southerner, I’m constantly conflicted by the South. Our region is filled with so much to love – rich arts, food, natural beauty, musical heritage and literature, but also so much disparity that it can be overwhelming.”