My current body of work centers on character design and an installation of that character’s living space. First comes the creation of the character, who acts as artist and lives in the installation. Characters are often born from some small piece of inspiration-a phrase, an animal, a bug, anything that sparks. This character, “Dear”, is inspired by beetles. First passes of sketches determined the form and personality of Dear. Then I was able to determine what I would need to inhabit Dear bodily – clothing, equipment, masks or other attachments that could form their body. While figuring out the physical, I develop a backstory, letting my mind wander - almost like an internal dowsing rod, telling me characteristics and steering me away from what doesn’t quite fit. Eventually I settle. Here, Dear is a scholarly journeyer. They pass between realms studying inhabitants and their environments. They are gentle.

          The living space installation is filled with furniture, books, journals, sketches, items determined within the character’s headspace. Dear’s Study is an accumulation of all of these items and more. Paintings and notes clutter the walls, books are strewn about, and journals await another entry, another note, another passerby’s glance. Some items are Dear’s own, some are artifacts from their journeys, and others yet are gifts from those they met on their travels. For example, the Bestiary is written by Dear and annotated by themselves and other visitors, and the body-bound is, instead a gifted journal from another realm.

          Dear’s Study is a window into a new world, one that people are invited to touch and discover on their own. I want Dear’s guests to feel as welcome in this foreign space as I am, and to indulge in the wonder of discovery and awe as they wish. Dear is yet another aspect of the installation they should feel free to interact with if they are around.