Artist Statement

My Love,

My flight took off at 7am this morning just as the sun was rising. As I gazed in awe of the snow-capped mountains and the sun rising behind it I was not satisfied with its beauty, because it was not you.

No sun shines as bright in my life as you do. You are there for me even when the sun is sleeping. You give me purpose. You give me light.

I sometimes awake in fear that I will not be able to give in return all that you have given to me. The dreams you play in my mind, the inspiration you give my life, the vision you give me of the potential I possess.

If I believed in myself the way you believe in me I imagine I too could make others believe. If I do what you call me to do, then maybe I could inspire others as well.

For in this life you have taught me that you only get as much as you give. Not that I love you in order to receive, but rather I love you so that I may learn to give.

Love, Serene


Why do I do what I do? I sit staring at the blank page on my computer as I begin to write this. There are so many words that bounce in my mind, but the only truth I could feel was that I love. I love my art. I love theater. How does one put into words the feeling of love? For love is like the wind. You can feel it, you knows its there, but you cannot see it or hold it, you must simply believe. I believe in my love for what I do. I feel privileged to be able to do what I love in this life. My other love is writing letters. I write to my soulmate everyday, and I write to my family and to my pen pal. So I figured the only way I knew how to express an artists statement of what I do is through a love letter. That is what you read above. I hope you too can love something in your life as I do.

ABC's Group Project

In the process of creating our group art project we began with the concept of music and its inspirational influence upon artists. Whether you use music to inspire a character’s actions like I do in my acting performance, or you are creating a type of dance that flows to the music like Sara, paint a portrait in which your brush strokes mimic the sounds you hear like Andrea, or you are playing a piece of music that inspires the way in which you play it like Christine.
Music is a powerful tool for anyone in the business of being an artist. It can affect your mood, your state of mind, and even your inner peace.
When our group met in Doheny Library we began to listen to songs on my I-pod. We came across the song “Home to Me” by Josh Kelley. As we listened to the lyrics and the peaceful, serene melody of the piece we reminisced on the ability of our art to be our comfort zone, our home.
This sparked the idea to create a music video to the song and show it to the class in hopes of getting some type of emotional response.
We looked on Getty Images and picked out pictures that would inspire an emotional response from our audience and that related to the lyrics of the piece.
When we finished the slideshow of pictures it gave off the vibe or idea that we can find home in the quiet moments of enjoying the presence and existence of people and the little things in our life. For example, the class seemed to respond to the picture of the human hand upon the elephant. This was interesting because it created a sensational response to many as they could imagine what that would have felt like. It made our senses aware of things we may otherwise ignore.
My hope is that by watching this piece people allow them self to step outside of the crazy world they are currently living in and take a moment of relaxation and peace. I hope that people slow down their world and begin to notice the people and the world around them. We need to slow down in life, because at the end of the day what matters the most is home; and what home means to us.
Sara then created a beautiful dance inspired from the music slideshow. We put the two into a split screen so that our audience could watch both the dance and the pictures. Andrea pointed out that metaphorically that was symbolic of the split we often feel in life between the crazy world we are living in and the place that is home to us, we must choose which side to focus on.