I sew and stuff and pinch and prod fabric until a fold reveals a pout. With soft knit jersey, I approximate the human head in shades of beige and brown. With a stroke of paint I turn a cheek rosy or an eye bloodshot. Forehead wrinkles and smile crinkles are the language with which I emote. Each face, suspended in an expression, embodies a feeling. Tumble-dried wool forms curls of blue and brown and gray hair. Behind the shimmer of sequin eyes, there is a glimmer of life.

It is this life that propels me. Soft sculptures offer a way to navigate my personal biography at the intersection of multiple cultures, languages and families. My adoptive grandparents were the founders and lead puppeteers for their 60+ puppet traveling theatre in post-WWII Germany. Many of these puppets have been my silent teachers, guiding me with their tattered seams as I've learned to stitch my people, plants and animals. Each character I create is a blend of influences, a merging of the self, the imaginary and the ancestral. I model an outfit after one I find my Colombian grandfather or German grandmother wearing in an old photo, source an expression from my own face, infuse the spirit of an indigenous legend or the chin of an uncle, leaving just enough room for my imagination to complete the picture.

I see puppets as connectors, to our past, present and one another. As reflective beings they provide a space to reckon with difficult feelings, empathize with others, or craft our own stories. Through fixed gazes of anxiety, joy, anger or grief, I explore the shifting nature of emotions and it’s ever-changing companion, identity.