2019, Embroidery thread
Designed for Metro Cinema

2019, Felt and embroidery thread
Designed for Boom Bap Cinema

2018, Felt, embroidery thread
Designed for Metro Cinema

2013, Felt
Designed for Metro Cinema

2013, felt
Designed for Metro Cinema

2012, Felt
Designed for Metro Cinema
 

2012, Felt and embroidery thread
Designed for Metro Cinema

When I read the call for the Alberta Craft Council's exhibition Kitsch, my first thought was of John Waters.

In his film Pink Flamingos, notorious Baltimore criminal Babs Johnson (Divine) and her family are forced into a series of escalating outrageous escapades to defend her tabloid-given title as The Filthiest Person Alive.

Dubbed "one of the most vile, stupid and repulsive films ever made." by Variety magazine, 70s audiences flocked to the theatre to see what all the fuss was about. John Water's film turned the ideal nuclear family on its head, attacking American puritanical hypocrisy and transforming shock culture into pop culture.

These dolls were inspired by writer and philosopher Roger Scrunton's observation on Kitsch as "not about the thing observed but about the observer. It does not invite you to feel moved by the doll you are dressing so tenderly, but by yourself dressing the doll." The Duke of Bad Taste and The Divine Muse are an invitation for the viewer to film a mile in their shoes.

2016, Embroidery thread, aida cloth

2020, Felt, embroidery thread

2016, Collage - sold

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton - Sold

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton - Sold

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton
Commissioned piece
 

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton - Sold

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton - Sold

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton - Sold

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton - Sold

2013, Felt, embroidery thread, cotton

Cause: As a young child one of my babysitters let me stay up late and watch Poltergeist with her. The scene where the clown doll attacks the young boy, undoubtedly contributed to my fear of both clowns and the idea of inanimate objects (like dolls) moving on it’s own power.

Stage developed: childhood (1-9)   |   Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: I don’t recall ever camping as a child, but I’ve certainly seen enough movies that suggest that sleeping in the great outdoors with nothing between you and the wildlife but a thin layer of tarp might not be the best idea.

Stage developed: adolescences (13-19)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: The desire to do something ‘perfect’ the first time coupled with the fear of failing has causes me to stop things before I’ve started.

Stage developed: adolescence (13-19)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Pin, photopaper, 10x10 inches

Cause: For the last five years I’ve dreaded visiting my eye doctor. Apparently the shape of my eyes is more conducive to retina detachment, a fact that I have never forgotten. Yet each visit my doctor feels the need to not only remind me, but to show me a detailed anatomical chart…. on my last visit he had a 3-D model.

Stage developed: adolescence (13-19)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: I dread the feeling of vulnerability while sitting/laying in an uncomfortable chair, wearing a paper bib and staring up at bright light. Waiting for a masked figure holding, holding what can best be described as tiny tools of torture, advancing towards your open mouth.

Stage developed: preadolescence (10-12)  |  Ongoing / conquered: conquered (from fear to dislike)

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: It wasn’t until I had reached high school that my tendency towards dyslexia was noticed. Spelling and grammar has never been my strong suit, so I’ve always felt at a disadvantage when I have to write things out by hand.      

Stage developed: adolescence (13-19)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-)  1            2            3            4            5   (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photograph, 10x10 inches

Cause: Cordyceps, more commonly known as the killer fungi, was discovered infecting large groups of insect. The fungus infects an insect’s brain taking over its body and causing climb to an elevated spot. Then it kills the host, bursts out of the body and the fungi’s spore spreads to infect others. The more numerous a species becomes the more likely of an attack, causing some scientists to hypothesize that the fungi acts like a type of crowd control. Stopping anyone group from getting the upper hand, how long before this fungi starts to attack us?

Stage developed: adulthood (20+)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-)  1            2            3            4            5   (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: The fear of unwanted pregnancy in my twenties developed into the fear of never having children in my thirties.

Stage developed: adulthood (20+)  |  Ongoing / conquered: conquered

Scale of fear:            (+) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: I find power tools in general unsettling, the idea of taking sharp -potentially dangerous- objects and giving it a power source seems like a bad idea. But nothing panics me quite like a chainsaw. I find a chainsaws appearance, speed, sound, and its excessive ability to tear things apart overwhelming. Having never taking a woodshop class, I’ve always viewed power tools like chainsaws as implements for monsters and serial killers.

Stage developed: adolescences (13-19)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: I don’t believe in ghost, but then again I don’t necessarily not believe in them either.

I’ve seen enough horror films involving frightening ghosts to occasionally carry the thought of them home with me to cause the odd sleepless night. 

Stage developed: preadolescence (10-12)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing
Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: I fear the instability of measurement. The fluctuating numbers on a scale or measuring tape. The desire to measure myself against an ideal and how those measurements reflect on my character.   

Stage developed: preadolescence (10-12)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-)  1            2            3            4            5   (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: As a child I was convinced that the inside of my closet and the space underneath my bed was full of monsters. I can recall waking up to some odd noise in the middle of the night and fighting the urge to turn the lights on, terrified of what I might see.  

Stage developed: childhood (1-9)  |  Ongoing / conquered: conquered

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: My first memory of encountering a mascot was on a shopping trip with my family. The department store was celebrating a big anniversary for Crayola, and they had people dressed up as giant crayons. One of the mascots started following me around the store in what he or she no doubt thought was a playful game of hide & seek... I was terrified. 

Stage developed: childhood (1-9)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

  2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: There is a thin line between a pack rat and hoarder. Coming from a long line of pack rats, I find reality shows like Hoarders terrifying. I believe that being an artist makes you all the more susceptible to hoarding. All of the finished and half finished pieces, materials needed and all of the odds and ends I hold onto because you never know when I’ll need it.  

Stage developed: adulthood (20+)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-)  1            2            3            4            5   (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: Many of us have heard a friend or coworkers tale of their computer crashing and they lost everything. I would always cringe and vow to get a back up hard drive always forgetting to do so shortly after. A few months back my computer wouldn’t start up properly, I’d try to turn it on and all I would get is a screen informing that I needed to try re-starting again. I experience sheer panic, years of my artwork was potentially lost. I was lucky and technicians were able to revive my computer and save my data. I’ve finally gotten around to purchasing a back up hard drive now, but the unflagging trust I once had in computer is now gone.  

Stage developed: adulthood (20+)  |  Ongoing / conquered: Ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-)  1            2            3            4            5   (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: I don’t believe in Zombies, I do however have the nagging fear that if there was a zombie epidemic I wouldn’t last very long. Modern day mythology suggests a Zombie fueled by rage as well as hunger is more likely to sprint then shuffle. My best bet is to find a crafty survivor and try to fill the role of the comedic sidekick.

Stage developed: adolescence (13-19)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-)  1            2            3            4            5   (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photo-illustration, 10x10 inches

Cause: Death is both inevitable and inexplicable; I believe it to be the ultimate fear that unites us all. A fear so large that it is easier to try to ignore it all together to make daily life manageable.   

Stage developed: preadolescence (10-12)  |  Ongoing / conquered: ongoing

Scale of fear:             (-) 1            2            3            4            5 (+)

2011, Mixed Media: Felt, thread, photograph, 10x10 inches

What do Justin Bieber, Aliens and the E. Coli Bacteria have in common…?

From the moment that the exhibition cuator, Jill Nuckles, asked me to be a part of Obsession I became obsessed with finding a distinct approach to the subject. To me obsession is like a cerebral magnifying glass, exaggerating and distorting the object of one’s fixation to a larger-than-life scale. I picked three representations of obsession; celebrity, conspiracy theory, and excessive hand washing - a symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). While researching for this series I found online comment boards which became the inspiration and background text for the pieces. By crafting these objects of fixation and simulating the perceived magnification, these pieces can give the audience a better understanding of obsession.

ALIENS: Conspiracy Theory Obsession
Mixed Media, felt, embroidery thread, laser print, plastic magnifying lens, mirror frame Background text sourced from “Turk184” post on Conspiracy Theories and Hoaxes

E-COLI BACTERIA: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Mixed Media: felt, embroidery thread, laser print, plastic magnifying lens, mirror frame Background text sourced from “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)” message board on the Health Boards

JUSTIN BEIBER: Celebrity Obsession
Mixed Media: felt, embroidery thread, laser print, plastic magnifying lens, mirror frame Background text sourced from “Do U LOVE Justin Bieber???” on Go To Quiz