I’ve been trying to get as many photos as possible off my phone. Feels like a tremendous job. Also a good reminder to do this more regularly and even get some hard copies printed. Phones die. charger cables get lost. tech changes. You know the drill.

These are from two different projects. One with roses zip tied into a “coffin” for preservation. The other is attempt to cut a silhouette of a skeeter out of window screen mesh. Looking back at my projects it’s fair to say I’ve been obsessed with mosquitoes for the last three years. Something about them acting as the vampires of the Gulf appeals to me. Blood suckers you can’t always see.

First ever modest little one-part silicone caulk mold. The tiles are tinted cement. Thinking about fossil records and that skeeter trapped in amber from Jurassic Park.

Even more skeeters. These are sculpted with a soft wax. I love how the color looks like thick congealed blood.

Attempted to make a lost wax cast of these skeeters, but sadly the mold failed because plaster was not fully dry on the inside. Give yourself lots of time between plaster applications my friends.

Super hulking clay fist I built to grasp this cycad-like branch. The leave shape is based on one of my all time favorite cycad plants, horridus encephalartos, which you can see a painting off in the pt.1 post. This display case was my first stab at finger joinery so that was fun time. Actually very satisfying to see come together. This sculpture soft nods to Victorian era botany. Attempts to bring ‘order’ to nature.

Not totally happy with it. I changed the handles eventually. Would still like another go at this one.

Thinking about theater again. Decided to make this odd door-sized theatrical flat. Lots of time was spent with router giving this plywood landscape a tiny bit of incremental depth.

The ‘window’ on this flat has a panel of mesh stapled behind. Keeps the skeeters out.

This was a big project for thesis exhibition. Found this abandoned crate by the dumpster and proceeded to spend six months doing surgery on it and scooting it back and forth with the help of 2-4 other persons. I decided I wanted to make this into a ‘peepshow.’ It began only about 8in thick, so we added another 8in ring to its depth (see photo 2). For some reason, no one knows why, the entire back half of the crate was painted solid black. I spent a couple long days sanding all that off. Eventually we built some shelving on the inside to hold multiple shadow boxes, these would comprise the ‘peepshow'.’

Making the shadow boxes themselves was another can of worms. I’m terrible with exacto blades so I knew I wanted to laser cut all the shadow box ‘flats’ to ease my pain. Of course this also meant re-learning how to make the vector files and use a laser cutter in the first place. Not clear if I really did myself any favors.

laser cutting and securing all the shadow box flats here.

Fun times moving this beast! You can see a good shot of the crate’s trap door here. This had a door—not pictured—that fit into place and blended with the rest of crate. This opening was made to allow gallery staff to turn the inner lighting on and off by accessing a power strip inside the crate.

Install shots. Power access was from a floor plug positioned just under the base of the crate. I drilled a hole into crate floor to bring in power without it being visible from the outside. Here you can see how the shadow boxes were positioned on shelving to align with peepholes on the two crate faces. Overall happy with this one. light had a nice glow from the peepholes. Eventually I will make a post about the content of the imagery. It’s primarily based on broadcast media disaster footage and my own memories of home flooding during Harvey in 2017.

Example of one of the eight, nine? shadow boxes before it went into crate housing.

More crates! Yes, one more crate from the dumpster to play with. This one was much smaller and more manageable. When I found it the ‘windows’ were covered with gator board panels glued to the inside. When I removed them the dimensions made me think of early U.S. circus wagons and train cars. I jazzed up the facade to act as a gilded cage and made a very thin, paper-doll like Gulf Chimera to live on the inside.

Still learning to sew so this was a great opportunity to practice ruching. Will ruche again. 10/10 drama.

Again, this crate was super narrow. Definitely used for shipping art originally. I made a base to lift the crate/wagon and make it sit closer to eye-level. Would love to try this again with some kind of wagon wheel situation. The text on side one reads: “BEHOLD! BEWARE!” on side two it reads “ BANISH! BEWAIL!.”

Enough for now. More backlogging backbloging soon.

A look back at the last three years in my grad program. I have not packed up the studio just yet, but I am working through a huge backlog of photos. Planning to do a series of posts here to document Fall 2023-Spring 2026.

Choice outfits. Many, many, many hours spent commuting on the bus.

My favorite campus staircase. Crucial since the elevators are in constant state of repair.

Some select early research materials.

My first studio space at school. Quickly this began transforming into a stage set. Later I would be approached to write a play and design sets for a nearby college. A story for another day.

Theatrical-sized cotton muslin was washed and dyed in the home machine before the wash-y sponge-y application of latex house paint.

Started building my first functioning Papier-mâché mask at this time. All tissue paper and PVA.

Continued doing backdrop paintings based on Gulf Coast landscapes/ seascapes

‘Perdido’ Offshore oil drilling platform. Not far from Galveston Island.

Queen Isabella Causeway. Connects mainland with South Padre Island.

Experimenting with the dental drill from hell.

Mesozoic Intersection, 2025

Mostly paintings for now, but will return with more sculpture and printmaking projects.

We made it all the way out to Los Angeles this year. Mystic Multiples was slated to do this fest back in 2020, but of course that plan got scrapped, so this trip has been a long time coming.

In a huge art city, it’s no surprise that this fest is very popular. I think they had something like 150 vendors. Because of demand and limited venue space the fest organizers asked folks to consider opting for half tables to make room for larger number of total vendors. We jumped in line and made it work with a more curated selection of our Mystic inventory.

The fest rental venue was a bit small for the number of vendors, but worked well overall. The only obvious issue was the unexpected extreme heat in L.A. that weekend. I admit, coming from Houston, I was dreaming about temperate 75 degree days. I have spent my whole life listening to people talk about how the temperature and climate in L.A. / Southern California is “perfect,” so I was a little pissed off that my first time in the state included sweltering daytime temps in the 90s. I think it probably still felt cooler than Houston, but the UV feel was definitely turned up to 11. All that to say, that once the event got going it was a very hot and sweaty afternoon.

Side note: I think this fest would’ve also greatly benefited from a couple food trucks. The venue area is more industrial and there’s virtually no food options nearby. They had coffee and pastries, but no lunch-like options. We always bring snacks, but you know, nothing beats cooked food.

Think we drank a gallon of water each during the fest. Note our under-table jug above. Also my savior that day: a cold aluminum can of coconut water and a large limon pepino gatorade. If you are uninitiated: this is the best ever flavor of gatorade. Accept nothing less. My greatest regret was that I did not bring my mini electric hand fan. I think April through October festivals might now require these fans as part of our kit.

The turnout to this festival was amazing. At some point in the day the crowd started to exceed fire code regulations and folks had to be held back until others departed. I was blown away to see folks willing to line up outside—in the heat with no shade—and wait to be let into the festival. Makes an old zine girl tear up to see it. Seriously.

Also sidenote: Since the fest was indoors the organizers highly encouraged the use of face masks and people where really good about it despite the heat. Good on y’all for that, for real. Well done people.

Thank you Los Angeles! Thank you L.A. Zine Fest! We met so many sweet people and had a great experience. Very much appreciate the hard work of all the volunteers, organizers, and everyone who makes it happen. Bless y’all for keeping the zine spirit alive and blazing.