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Ecospiritual Entanglement
Get PDFLand breeds culture. It gives us the resources to thrive, and in that process we establish a relationship with its constituents. With a multitude of beings inhabiting the land, a complex web of relationships develop. Biology describes these relationships as food webs; the mass entanglement of organisms in a manner that each organism nourishes the other. These webs are not just mere scientific structures but rather an interpretation of existential connections that every organism in the world, humans included, are indebted to. Food webs are the first stepping stone in the formation of culture, as they account for the engagement between the inhabitants among a piece of land. very geography throughout the world has produced cultures as offspring. I grew up in the intersection of the so-called East and the West, coincidentally(or not) known for being very biologically and thus culturally diverse. Western thought likes to idealize the earlier civilizations in the area as the “progenitors of Western Society”, and focus on the domineering achievements of the region, such as the advent of mass-scale agriculture that enabled social hierarchy. A result of hegemonic abuse of food webs, this kind of misuse of ecological relations led to the shifting of power scales between the members occupying the land. Harmonious relationships have been present in the area, yet it wasn’t in the historical limelight of empires that it thrived. It persisted among those who relied on the land to survive. Although rulers of the land changed with years, the folk who worked the land remained in the same place. They became bearers of culture, carrying practices that were shaped by their ecology. We see the presence of this ecology in an array of fields, but to me of particular interest is jewelry
Wood in Hand: Open-Ended Wooden Play
Get PDFThis project explores the design of a sustainable, open-ended wooden toy that encourages children’s creativity, collaboration, and physical development. Recognizing the important role of play in learning, the toy aims to connect children to natural materials while supporting skills like eye-hand coordination, flexible thinking, and visual-spatial processing. Free-form linear elements constructed from wood, a renewable, durable, and biodegradable material, the toy invites children to assemble and create various structures using dowels, pegs, and fabric. By offering different connection possibilities and free-form pieces, it fosters imagination, problem-solving, and group play. This project also addresses sustainability by focusing on material longevity, reusability, and emotional attachment, aiming to reduce environmental impact and inspire early awareness of sustainable practices through hands-on play
Daily Creative Practice: A Path to Well-Being for Self + Society
Get PDFDaily creative practice is a proven way to promote health and happiness, and to counteract what many are currently calling a global crisis in mental health.
There has perhaps never been a better time to be creative. Our collective healing and future human flourishing depend on it.
The author’s life and teaching experiences are explored, in the context of human history, (social) psychology and the challenges of contemporary culture.
Finally, the author offers a preview of a curriculum for Daily Creative Practice that will be further developed and implemented in Fall 2025, thanks to a grant from RISD’s Graduate Commons.
With this research project as her foundation, the author plans to facilitate creative conversation, community building, art-making and activism around timely cultural themes
Unframing Venus: Redefining the Female Nude
Get PDFHistorically women have been excluded from becoming acclaimed artists due to societal, educational, and institutional barriers. This exclusion has had many repercussions in Western art––in a large part it has made celebrated male artists the norm, while celebrated female artists are the exception.
These same barriers often precluded women from depicting themselves in art. When women did paint, they were encouraged to paint domestic scenes such as flowers or still lifes and were prohibited from studying or depicting the nude form. This gap of representation was filled by male artists who have felt empowered to sexualize women with no consequence. For centuries, these artists have narrowly depicted the female body as a passive object through the sexualized male gaze, often for the enjoyment of men. This has left a large body of work that showcases an idealized female form, while suppressing women from representing themselves.
Today, this unequal dynamic is continued as museums operate under a guise of neutrality and continue to show these works without context or critique, allowing the objectified representation of women to continue. In these paintings of women and within museums, male artists and viewers have all the power and there is still no room for female bodily autonomy.
In 1986, the Guerrilla Girls famously asked “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” Then, they stated that less than 5% of paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art are by women, and 85% of the nudes are female. The Met has made little progress to improve these statistics. Thirty nine years later, still only 7% of paintings in the Met are by women. The lack of female artist representation, along with the sexualized view of women promulgated by male artists over thousands of years, has created a predominant, misrepresentative narrative of women that does not accurately represent the moment when these paintings were created or now.
In order for women today to have a chance to define themselves on their own terms, it is critical to challenge the artistic messaging that defines women simply as passive objects. The issue is not the nakedness of the women in these paintings. This thesis is not about censorship or putting more shame and burden on women\u27s bodies, but rather it critiques the unequal power and gender dynamics that male artists and their representations of women have perpetuated. To address these issues, this thesis provides exhibition and curation strategies to help audiences to view historic pieces of art more critically. This proposed exhibition interrogates paintings by male artists that define women simply as passive objects. Shattering the illusion of these being neutral portrayals of women, Unframing Venus casts a critical glance at the Met’s collection and introduces female artists in their own right
Revealing Watery Geologies: Softening the Mississippi River Bluffs in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Get PDFHow is a place shaped by the geologies beneath it? In Saint Paul, Minnesota, the geologic ground tells the story of the different forces and processes that shaped it through time, but in the most recent geologic period of the anthropocene, industrialization and urban development have covered up these stories. On the edge of downtown, where the city meets the Mississippi River, an eighty foot concrete wall replaces the natural form of the bluff shaped by glacial and riverine activity. This thesis peels back the anthropogenic materials we encounter every day and explores Saint Paul through deep time– exploring how geologic processes and materiality are made apparent through landscape design, ultimately fostering a deeper connection to place. By building a visual understanding of layered time, careful site analysis, material experimentation, and site design, this thesis rebuilds a lost connection to ground, engaging viewers with the layered strata deep beneath the city and the erosive processes that occur on the surface while revealing the agency of the Mississippi River today. As landscape architecture continues to contribute to the formation of anthropogenic layers, this thesis argues for a design practice rooted in an understanding of deep time, materiality, and ongoing geologic processes
Prosthesis
Get PDFThis thesis explores the hospital as a prosthetic—a structural and spatial support for the human body in moments of vulnerability. Like a crutch or cast, the hospital temporarily supports patients in their transition from horizontal (infirm) to vertical (mobile), yet its architecture often fails to contribute meaningfully to that healing process. While clinical treatment is prioritized, the spatial, emotional, and sensory dimensions of care are neglected. What supports what becomes a central question: the building holds the body, but the body also gives meaning to the building. Their relationship is reciprocal.
Rather than proving that good design improves health—an idea well-documented in research—this thesis seeks to act on that understanding. It proposes a healthcare architecture that actively contributes to healing rather than standing by passively or even working against it.
The project is situated at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, a site that enables layered inquiry. It investigates how healthcare infrastructure can address broader urban issues: housing insecurity, access to mental and physical rehabilitation, and urban connectivity. It envisions a complex that includes outpatient mental and dental care, physical rehabilitation, and a variety of housing options (temporary, senior, low-income, market-rate), each with separate yet integrated access.
This thesis explores how a hospital can become both a machine for healing and a place of habitation—an urban prosthetic that supports physical, emotional, and social recovery. Through attention to light, views, atmosphere, and movement, it seeks to reimagine medical architecture as an agent of care, community, and continuity
Graphic Gestures on the Digital Surface; In Defense of the Observational
Get PDFThis thesis offers a subjective and process-based exploration of digital tools, challenging the dominant function-driven mindset that often defines digital design today. Rather than prioritizing speed, efficiency, or usability metrics, this work is a shift in focus toward experience, spatial awareness, and the subtle dynamics of interaction.
Rooted in acts of attention—looking inwards, looking outwards—this approach begins by setting aside assumptions about what tools are for, in order to ask how they shape our behaviors and ways of thinking. In doing so, it proposes a design methodology grounded in presence over productivity, process over execution, and agency over automation.
The body of work developed through this methodology spans a variety of graphic experiments, spatial arrangements, and interface reimaginings. While each project stands on its own, together they form a procedural narrative—offering methods, gestures, and scores for rethinking how we interact with digital systems. These are not definitive answers, but open-ended invitations to see design differently.
By resisting the standardized logic of contemporary UI/UX frameworks, this thesis seeks to uncover what lies just outside their bounds. It encourages a return to design as a reflective and relational practice—one that opens space for curiosity, presence, movements, and the subtle dynamics between ourselves and the systems we touch
Deceptive Images
Get PDFTechnology makes promises, only to break or alter them in unexpected ways. As the endless loop of anticipation, disappointment, and renewed hope repeats, I am both fascinated and skeptical of the unfamiliarity it shows. I constantly compare how accurately technology replicates reality. I capture the discomfort and misalignments that occur when everything seems to fall back into a predictable pattern. By enhancing these irregularities, I reflect their roughness in a satirical way.
We see, expect, and are startled when things differ from the images we hold in our minds. This divergence is a form of magic. Yet this line between deception and magic is often imperceptible, it all depends on how we choose to unravel the spell. This surprise can either entertain or unsettle us, depending on our perspective. What should we believe
Unnatural Nature: A Visual Artist’s Reflection on Myth, Medium, and Feminine Being
Get PDFMy artistic journey has been guided by a childhood fascination with mythology and how our ancestors interpreted the natural world. As my practice evolved toward digital media, I began questioning what nature truly means—is it an objective reality or a construct filtered through cultural lenses and personal experience?
The transition from traditional to digital tools—from physical brushes to Apple Pencil and Wacom stylus—removed much of the spontaneous dialogue with materials that once mirrored nature\u27s own randomness. While I initially celebrated my ability to simulate traditional techniques digitally, I now recognize this transformation demands a fundamental reconsideration of how artists connect with nature in the digital age—the connection may no longer be within the material.
This thesis examines how my understanding of nature has evolved through my work, reflecting on how inherited cultural narratives and social constructs have unconsciously shaped my artistic decisions. Rather than seeking definitive answers, I document a process of questioning and redefining my artistic language—creating a living dialogue between myself, nature, and the cultural forces that frame our perception of the world
The Dialectic of Airless Space
Get PDFThe Dialectic of Airless Space is a cumulative, cross-disciplinary research project that explores ‘airless space’ as a somatic and psychological condition shaped by institutional environments. Unfolding over time through five interrelated books, the project weaves together writing, ephemera, textile sculpture, and drawing to archive the invisible architectures of bodily and mental experience