Mixed: A New Diptych About The Mixed-Race Experience

I’m excited to share with you a new project of mine that has a lot of personal significance to me. In this paper sculpture diptych, I explore my mixed-race heritage by examining ancestral hometowns on both sides of my family: the Northern Minnesotan town of Two Harbors on the left, and the Gujarati fishing town of Diu on the right.

This work illustrates a number of dichotomies that shaped my experience of being mixed: the nuclear family versus large, interconnected communities, individualism versus collectivism, and isolation versus enmeshment.

Here are satellite images of Two Harbors, MN (left) and Diu, Gujarat (right) for reference:

And here’s a fun little process video showing the hundreds of tiny paper boxes before they got glued down:

Canis Major at Workshop Residence

Introducing my newest installation — a warm, glowing night sky, made of paper, wood, and LEDs.

When I was a child, my parents helped me stick glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling above my bed. Gazing at them while drifting off to sleep was a comforting ritual. I delighted in the magic of the glowing plastic, but subconsciously, I think I also liked being reminded of my place in a vast universe.

Canis Major, my newest installation, is about bringing that that feeling into my adult life. The feeling of being safe in your home, lowering the lights as you wind down for the evening, and contemplating your place in the universe. I hope it brings viewers a feeling of comfort, calm, and maybe a bit of childhood nostalgia.

Pinpricks of light shine through thousands of tiny holes, which are laid out in the exact pattern of stars in the night sky. Canis Major and Orion are among the constellations that can be found if you’re in the mood to do some stargazing.

The constellation chart below shows the map of stars depicted in this piece. Canis Major, the constellation for which the piece is named, is located on the far right side. It can be identified by the large cutout representing Sirius, the the brightest star visible in the night sky. To the right of Sirius is Orion -- look for the three stars in a row that make up Orion's Belt.

The piece is on display — and available for purchase — at Workshop Residence in Dogpatch. Email manager@workshopresidence.com for pricing.

UPDATE 10/3/19: This piece is no longer available.

Winner of Adobe's 36 Days of Type Contest

Remember that project where I made one letter of the alphabet, and then all of the numerals, every day for 36 consecutive days? Turns out my project was one of six winners for Adobe’s 36 Days of Type contest! Thousands of incredibly talented designers, artists, and illustrators participated in this year’s competition, and I was totally surprised and delighted to hear that I was one of six winners. Read my interview and check out the other winners over at Adobe’s blog post.

Quiet Type

I recently participated in the 36 Days of Type, an annual, global design challenge in which illustrators and designers each create and share one letter or number every day for 36 days.

I’ve never taken on this kind of daily challenge before, and it was tough! It forced me to stay on a rigorous schedule of producing and sharing new work every day. It was fast-paced, and there were several days in which I cut it really close to the deadline. It gave me a good excuse to develop new techniques, some of which have already made their way into larger standalone pieces.

Below is a quick snapshot of the entire project, but click here for larger photos of each one. The alphabet is currently on display at Marrow Gallery, and it’ll be up through May 25, 2019.

Micro Pleats!

Just as an experiment, I replicated one of my larger pieces at half-scale. I halved it again, making an even smaller one. I thought I was done, but my studiomate Emi Grannis, lover all things microscopic, challenged me to half the scale again! Challenge accepted! I did some of the smallest pleats I've ever done. Here's the largest and the smallest ones:

Connections: Open Studio Exhibit

My studiomates and I opened our doors and showed off new work this past weekend. I showed a paper installation that featured projected light effects by Phil Reyneri and Lightform. 

Red Stitched Accents

I've started incorporating tiny red stitched accents into my paper pieces, and I'm feeling pretty excited about it. It's such a small detail, but on a simple, otherwise monochromatic piece, it can change the feel of it.

Experiments with Paper Folding

I've been experimenting with paper folding lately! I've been making pleats and pop-ups, working my way through Paul Jackson's beautiful instructional books. I love that it requires precision, it's highly tactile, and it involves a good amount of logic.