The Artistic Inquiry Don’t Stop
acrylic and marker on paper, 14” x 17”, 2020
Curiosity and exploration are part of the practice for all artists.
In these paintings, I make inquiry a very explicit part of the process.
You can see me brainstorming right on the canvas. Often, I collage and remix sketchnotes from events that inspire me as a way to reflect on their meaning and think about how I will act on what I have learned.
In the Middle School Art Room
acrylic on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2024
This is a self-portrait of my first year as a middle school art teacher at Paul Revere K-8 School in the San Francisco Unified School District. Painting this has helped me process that whole experience, and I’m constantly thinking about how to do this job better.
Brave Spaces and the Brain
acrylic mixed media collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2023
For this painting I combined sketchnotes from several meetings of White Educators for Social Justice and other workshops to reflect on lessons for how to be an anti-racist white teacher. The floss represents the need to put in some regular effort to avoid imposing unconscious biases and prejudices on the students we teach.
Alive with Where Art Lives
acrylic and collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2023
As director of the Where Art Lives program, I spend a lot of time during the 2022-23 school year at James Lick Middle School. In this painting I reflect on what we accomplished with Maria Lourdes Nocedal as our contact at the school and Joe Colmenares leading the graffiti art lessons.
Grace and Compassion
Acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2021
This painting is a reflection on a year of meetings with San Francisco Unified School District beginning in April 2020. Read all about it in this article on Mission Local.
Arts Equity District
acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2020, SOLD
This painting reflects on a year of meetings that I participated in as an arts partner and advocate for arts education with the San Francisco Unified School District. See the original sketchnotes and read about the story this painting tells here.
Naming it is Powerful
acrylic, lighting gel samples, and crowd-sourced mixed media collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2018
Reflections incorporating sketchnotes from the 2018 Emergence conference at Root Division (a convening of the Emerging Arts Professionals). The painting also includes written comments from people in the afternoon archiving breakout session.
This painting is currently on display at the Emerging Arts Professionals office in San Francisco.
Centering Marginalized Voices Machine
acrylic and collage on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2016
Reflections incorporating sketchnotes from the 2016 Emergence conference at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and various other artist convenings.
This painting is currently on display at the Emerging Arts Professionals office in San Francisco.
Embrace Tension
acrylic and collage on canvas, 9” x 12”, 2018
This painting represents a reflection on the booklet, Principles for Equity in the Arts created by members of a YBCA fellowship.
I use painting to understand and play with ideas I find in books. Here are some examples from the painting store.
I also use art to explore my feelings through allegory. Take a look at these allegorical paintings.
