My work aims to explore tenderness as well as the consequences of it. When defined academically, the word tenderness means kindness and gentleness, as well as a sensitivity to pain, which seems like an unlikely coincidence in my opinion. Tenderness is more than just a word, it’s an idea that I hope to convey and evoke through my work. Using the written word, the structure of a book, and simplistic line drawings, I hope to express the difficulty and empathy experienced when navigating relationships.

For my senior exhibition at Loyola University New Orleans, I explored the overarching theme of tenderness, empathy, and relationships in a series of large scale comic strips. Comic strips provide an opportunity to combine text and imagery in a familiar way, as well as tell microcosmic stories through a narrative of poetry. By combining text and imagery, I hope to make poetry more accessible to those who might not necessarily care for it. Even further, I hope to initiate a dialogue between fine art and design and create a space for the two to exist simultaneously. But, overall, I hope to create relatable and heartfelt narratives and make space for more “casual” art in a gallery setting.