As a mixed-media artist working primarily in fiber, my practice is rooted in the belief that  textiles carry stories. I am especially drawn to crochet for its tactile intimacy and its capacity to  hold memory, labor, and resistance within its loops. My work engages with themes of legacy,  care, and matrilineal knowledge, often using inherited techniques such as crocheted star motifs,  hand-dyed yarn, and digital embroidery. 

Textiles invite us to touch and be touched—not just physically, but emotionally and  historically. They live in the domestic sphere, in clothing and comfort, in rituals and repair.  Through my practice, I explore how these materials and forms can become sites of radical  tenderness, where both personal and collective narratives can unfold.

Currently, my body of work bridges the visual and the archival. It includes immersive  installations, handmade textiles, and participatory workshops that invite others into the process  of making. I view fiber not only as a medium, but as a method—a mode of thinking, healing, and  remembering. It’s a way to trace and preserve stories, while also reimagining them in  community. 

I approach teaching as a dynamic, reciprocal practice rooted in care, critical inquiry, and  imagination. Whether in studio-based or academic settings, I strive to create learning  environments that honor experimentation, risk-taking, and student voice. I believe that  meaningful learning happens when students feel both supported and challenged, and when they  can see their own lives reflected in what they study and create. 

My pedagogy centers inquiry-based learning, where students are encouraged to  investigate materials, concepts, and cultural histories in relationship to their own lived  experiences. I integrate theory and practice by designing scaffolded assignments that encourage  critical thinking, interdisciplinary exploration, and real-world engagement. These often include  artist talks, collaborative critiques, site-specific installations, and community-based projects. 

As an artist-educator working in fiber, I am particularly interested in reframing traditional  craft practices as contemporary, conceptual, and politically potent. I invite students to explore the rich intersections between materiality and meaning—to ask not only how something is made, but  also why it matters, who it speaks to, and what it contributes to the self and the world. 

Ultimately, my goal is for students to leave my classroom with more than just technical  proficiency. I want them to carry with them a deeper understanding of art as a powerful tool for  self-expression, social critique, and cultural transformation.

As an artist and educator, I am deeply committed to fostering inclusive, critically  reflective learning environments where diverse voices, histories, and material practices are not  only represented but actively centered and celebrated. My teaching philosophy is grounded in the  belief that every student brings a wealth of cultural knowledge, personal history, and lived  experience into the classroom—and that these perspectives are essential to building dynamic,  equitable learning communities. 

I approach this work with a continual awareness of my own positionality, privileges, and  responsibilities. I enter each educational space with humility and an open heart, committed to  ongoing self-reflection and accountability. In both my teaching and research, I intentionally  elevate the work of artists and makers from historically marginalized communities, incorporating  anti-colonial, anti-racist, and feminist frameworks that challenge dominant narratives in art  education.

My Fiber Arts Model of Engagement (FAME)—which emphasizes Cultural Authenticity,  Intergenerational Transparency, and Innovative Heritage—emerged from years of collaboration  with students in majority-POC schools across Chicago, as well as from the creative legacy of my  own matrilineal lineage of fiber artists. This framework honors the richness of cultural memory  and craft, while creating space for new and meaningful interpretations of heritage. 

I believe that material practices, particularly those rooted in fiber, offer powerful  pathways for dialogue, belonging, and self-determination. In my classroom, art becomes more  than a product—it becomes a process of cultural resilience, communal healing, and collective  imagining.