New Article in The Desert Leaf

This beautiful article by Cheri Newton recently came out in the December issue of The Desert Leaf. The online magazine is linked here and the article starts on page 41.

here. now. close.

I’m excited to announce a new installation, here. now. close. at the Project Space at the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum. The show runs from May 9 - August 3, 2025 with a public opening on May 23rd from 7-10 pm. I’ll be giving an artist talk on June 15th 1-2pm in the Dobson Lecture Hall.

here. now. close. is a relational sound and object installation based on the simple shape of a heart. The title is inspired by research into neural bereavement – a term that describes the changes in the brain when grieving. The work traces our experience of loss through three dimensions: space (here), time (now), and attachment (close).* The installation pays special attention to the last measurement—closeness—outlining the invisible contours of grief.

Costumes of Absence / Orchestra of Bodies is a series of vessels made by blowing glass into a reusable mold. Originating in early death practices, mold making was used to create masks of the deceased, a way to represent or repeat something that was lost. Here, the ‘mother-mold’ is a combination of welded metal hearts that typify the coiled scroll work and common decorative pattern found on fences in the Southwest. The sculptures refer to the domestic symbolism of this familiar shape while conjuring the image of a hollow, pumping organ. Like a working heart, the mold bears repetitive action, the inflation of hot-glass pushing into the open voids of the metal shapes. The process of making the vessels, the physical actions, endurance and the collaboration between breath and body becomes committed to muscle memory. The glass vessels are like relics, representing their own presence and the absence of the mold that formed them.

The resonant sounds of the vessel’s interior curves and folds play from two speakers situated across the gallery from one another. Rubber tubing, the kind often used in glass blowing, directs air across the openings of the vessels to produce a low-pitched hum. The individual sounds are recorded and layered, referring to the solitary and communal aspects of the act of glass blowing, while mirroring the ways we experience grief. Echoes of abstraction, spatial and atmospheric activation combine to become an expression of loss. Sound asks the viewer to participate in the intimate act of listening, to internalize it, a practice that over time builds closeness.

*O’Connor PhD, Mary-Frances. The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss. Harper Collins, 2023.

Audio recording by Michael Carbajal / Audio produced, mixed and mastered by Dominic Valencia

Shows on Mothering..

I had a really busy year and am late to update this news section!

I was in two dream-come-true shows this year on a subject close to me: motherhood. I was thrilled to be included in Notes on Motherhood at ASU Art Museum in Tempe (my alma mater), curated by Brittany Corrales. The show included work from the collection as well as work from contemporary artists based in Arizona and “explores various stages of matrescence, or “mother-becoming” –– from birth and caregiving to grief and loss. The exhibition challenges the narrow depictions of mothers and mothering within art history and visual culture.” (from the ASU website) You can read more about this show here.

I was so honored to be included in the groundbreaking show, Designing Motherhood at The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. The show in Houston was the fifth version co-organized by curator Sarah Darro. It was created by a group of curators and researchers including; Michelle Millar Fisher, Amber Winick, Juliana Rowen Barton, Gabriella Nelson and Zoe Greggs.

From the Craft Houston website: “Handcrafted objects are the intermediary space between the womb and the world. From handwoven swaddling cloths and knitted baby blankets to embroidered baby carriers and basket-woven bassinets, craft is often the first human experience of the material world,” notes HCCC Curator and Exhibitions Director Sarah Darro. “HCCC’s presentation of Designing Motherhood draws out the intertwined properties of labor, care, embedded history, material intelligence, and intergenerational knowledge shared by craft and parenthood, ultimately asserting such reproductive experiences as forms of craft themselves.”

Read more here.

Convening: Mothering + Creativity at MOCA Tucson

I was honored to participate in an Artist Panel and breakout discussions called Mothering + Creativity at MOCA Tucson. The panel included myself, Fay Ray, Amber Doe, Anh Thuy Nguyen, Liz Cohen and was moderated by Natalie Brewster Nguyen. It was a powerful group of Artists!

The Convening happened because of the hard work of Deputy Director, Co-Chief Curator and Mother Laura Copelin, Curator Alexis Wilkinson and the dedicated staff. It was amazing to see such a big turn-out, to see the desire for programming related to parenting + art. It was beautiful to see who in our community resonates with these acts of mothering and creating and to hear their specific experiences, both the good and the challenging. MOCA Tucson so generously provided childcare during the event…childcare at a contemporary art museum! Exo Coffee, La Estrella Bakery and others in our community generously provided food and coffee for everyone!

Thank you to all of the mothers and supporters who participated. Thank you for listening and for sharing food and stories. It was great to really see you.