Modern Women In Trying Times for Play Pavillion

I am so excited to have had the pleasure to create a three part art series for the Play Pavillion exhibition at the Millard Art Sheets Center. Curated by Rebecca Ustrell and Keith Ballard, both outstanding artists and respected members of the local Southern California Artistic Community. 

I feel honored to be thought of and be an active community artist around Southern California. Rebecca reached out to me, who I had the pleasure working with for my first artist residency at the Lounge Residency in the last year. 

Me; cheesing as part of artist receptionist at the Millard Sheets Art Center inside of the Pomona Fairplex for the LA county fair. 

It is so exciting to see your name printed alongside your artwork with other amazing, creative and honorable artists!

When I thought about what kind of message I wanted to send for this exhibition, I wanted to focus on war-like sentiments in modern society. The reason being is when I started to brainstorm on imagery is also during the time in late February when Israel and the United States launched airstrikes on Iran.

It felt far away from me in the moment, but also had me thinking of what kind of modern battles are everyday people fighting, people who are like me, a woman. 

The first piece of artwork I started on was "Technology Through New Eyes"

The background came first; historical photos of World War II, planes flying as well as the helmets and protective gear for soldiers.

My focus for these digital collages was to comment on the way women living now deal, explore and or rebel against current economical hardships. Whether that is investing in beauty, aesthetic, and or collectibles in order to find fulfillment and everyday joy. This is also why i decided to include the imagery of an older gas pump to comment on the higher wages for gas in the moment. Self expression through makeup, clothing and even collecting kewpie dolls is important when I think about how women (just like me) are dealing in this economy.

My second piece; "Bite The Bullet" is commentary on modern beauty trends and the exploitation of women's bodies used to sell products.

This piece inspired by the many ways women and femmes alter, puncture and fill the aspects of their bodies to mimic armor and go to war in today's society. Beauty becomes a sense of currency to live peacefully in a world that has deemed feminine traits as lacking. If i change the color of my lipstick, can it be considered war paint?

I used bullet imagery because of how similar design is to the body of a modern lipstick. 

Last collage I worked on; titled "Embracing Modernity"

This one focused most on the constant change and updates in electronics such as the rise of AI. I think of how fascinating the future seemed when the latest piece of technology was a portable cd player or even the first version of an ipod.

Sometimes it seems like these inventions are constantly being swapped out for faster and minimal versions of the same thing. I chose to make this piece a bit more blurred, more difficult to understand when I think about how much electronics have changed. 

Even if things seem "easier" with newer technology, there is a further disconnect from humanity as we become more embedded in our phones. 

Thank you Claremont Temporary for this opportunity to showcase a part of my artistic journey.

So please if you find yourself in the Pomona, LA County Area please check out the LA Country Fair; the Millard Art Sheets Center specifially.

All artwork will be displayed until May 31st 2026.