Breehound

I create to bring the natural universe into my home and my brain. My practice evolved from an exploration of creatures and fantasy to an incessant curiosity for all things naturally designed. I spend my research time bingeing wildlife documentaries, reading field guides, and going on hyperfocus marathons of Wikipedia articles. My recreational quality time is spent hiking, observing, and camping, exploring the wide range of emotions and ideas that the natural world inspires, and trying to pick up on the ways human or natural design has affected my surroundings. Studying biodiversity crafts personified stories that are adventurous, lively, and surreal, while highlighting matters of both the natural and unnatural world.  

My work is a constant battle between the act of producing it, a human desire to express admiration, and the effects it has on the environment through the production of my materials. I work mainly with biodegradable materials and try to avoid plastics in my pieces and processes. What is important is the sustainability of the subjects, so I am always designing better ways to work in paper, glass, and digital media. Other mediums force me to problem solve to reduce waste product, packaging, and pollution.  

Being raised on Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and Sonic the Hedgehog, I have inherited a strong illustrative style and passion for visual learning and storytelling. As a graphic design student and major loose-leaf doodler, I often simplify designs through negative space and measured forms. I am inspired by spiritual-natural tattoo artist Pony Reinhardt, art-and-crafts daughter May Morris, animalistic paper sculpturist Diana Beltrán Herrera, and paper artist Raya Sader Bujana.