I was initially not optimistic about being under a lockdown in New Zealand and being locked up in an apartment. However, it has helped me recenter my attention to my immediate surroundings and use a wide range of materials to create art. During the lockdown, one of the things  I was very frustrated by was the fact that it rained almost every day. I would look out a window and wonder when the sun would come out. At one point, I just decided to put on a pair of sandals, still in my pajamas, and do some painting in the pouring rain. I would put India ink on paper and let the rain make the ink splatter. After the paper dried, I found that these indescribable, fascinating patterns appeared. Depending on what paper I used and how hard the rain was at the moment, I would get a different texture on the paper.

​

Then, when I was outside where my family hangs laundry, I saw this plant with round, hard seeds. I shook some seeds out on the paper and let them roll. The seeds would pick up ink on their way and leave unpredictable, organic lines and shapes. Watercolor Crayon is another part of this exploration as it reacts with water and leaves and marks of wax.

​

I had been looking for ways to combine my interests in biology, visual art, and psychology, and I think I was able to explore that in this series of experimental work. My love for nature definitely comes through my work in this series as well. I plan on adding more detailed graphite and micron pen linework in this sustained series overtime to add contrast and emphasis.