Showcard design: Abby Peddle, Molly Meyer (CANVA)
SOAR: Senior Art Exhibition
Located in the Alice R. Rodgers and Target Galleries
St. John's University, Collegeville, MN.
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Gallery Hours:
11am-4pm, M-F
1pm-4pm, Sun
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"For my thesis work, I spent an entire year developing my artistic vision and work. I spent countless hours experimenting with my craft, as well as different mediums, to get my message across. What you don't see is the failed attempts and many changes made due to peer and staff critiques. The final project is at the top, with subsequent work leading up to the final product. I hope you enjoy my process. As an artist, it is ever going."
Gilded: A short film on self-love, film. 2021.
Gilded
2.8.21
They say gems are formed under
enormous pressure.
And stretches of time
our mediocre human minds
can’t even begin
to comprehend even begin to comprehend.
And it makes me wonder:
How is worth measured?
Is it intrinsically felt,
or designed?
What defines
and confines
worth
or worthiness?
Is it rarity?
Scarcity?
The unbelievable made real?
Is it beauty?
Authenticity?
Where do the limits of
“what matters is on the inside”
end
and my actions begin?
An impression deflection.
If I stood side by side
with a humanoid AI
what would I be
compared to millions
in advanced technology?
What separates a diamond
from dust or
silver
gold
from rust?
Like Jack's golden egg—
the insides remain soft
and shells remain penetrable;
even if I’m dusted in gold,
I’m still the same person
underneath.
You can’t take the gold
from inside of me.
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You see:
They say I radiate like the sun--
even though I feel storm clouds
brewing
inside
sometimes;
rain pitter pattering out the window
of my glazed, glass eyes.
I’ve been trying to figure out
what other color I could be
what other shape to form.
because I have trouble fitting
snuggly
into places and spaces
made for less
or more.
Lately I’ve realized—
all this time thinking
worth came from the outside
the weight of conformity
the burden I must bear—
I found the truth hidden:
somewhere
I had not looked
in a long time
for it was dark in there
I found it on the inside,
in my beating bleeding heart
all molten and beautiful—
all the love I could’ve asked for.
And lately I say to myself,
“I love you,”
because for so long I forgot too.
I encourage you
to say “I love you,”
too
because in the end
all there is
is you
- ap
Time Spent in the Library, stop motion animation, 2020.
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Time Spent in the Library
3.6.20
I want to crack you open like a book,
and read every
word,
line,
and page
I can.
There’s stories I want to tell,
secrets to share
Is the light dim?
Can you see it, too?
I feel as though
I’ve skipped to the last page—
as if I know you
and have reached
the end.
- ap
Who Am I?, stop motion animation, 2021.
Who Am I?
10.11.20
There was never any
Kind of denial,
But an ongoing
Battle:
Who am I today?
Boxes wanting to be
Ticked
But never really
Fitting inside
The confusion
The fear
The question:
Who am I?
An ongoing process,
An ever-changing thing.
That is the beauty of it—
To be constantly morphing
Into more of yourself—
Never remaining stagnant
But moving forward
Vibrantly,
As the path was never
Straight for me.
The freedom to be
Who you want to be.
What makes a life more valid
Between you and me?
It’s funny because labels don’t change a thing
We are not soup cans on a shelf
Human 1, 2, 3,
I am me.
- ap
Time Spent in the Library, 2020.
Who Am I?, 2020.
She is Art, 2018.
Time Spent in the Library, 2020.