artist statement: Art has always been omnipresent in my life, often arriving in bursts of chaotic inspiration that occasionally pushed the limits of acceptable childhood behavior. At age seven, I was famously caught by my mother (an avid antique collector) trying to “repair” the inlay of an 18th-century Boulle table using a mallet and craft glue. (Spoiler: Elmer’s is not a recommended restoration material.) My technique may have been questionable, but the gesture was, in its own way, heartfelt and maybe even a little brilliant.

Today, I channel that same scrappy, heartfelt energy into a multidisciplinary practice that spans sculpture, painting, fiber, printmaking, and digital manipulation. I’m drawn to secondhand and “once-loved” materials, often sewing, mending, or reimagining objects that already carry their own stories. My work plays with the tension between softness and structure, echoing the messy, layered process of feeling deeply.

My studio is a patchwork of the sentimental and the strange: stuffed animals awaiting surgery, scraps of fabric with ambiguous past lives, ceramic fragments that didn’t survive the kiln but insist on being included anyway. There’s usually a sense of play, underpinned by something stickier: grief, memory, the need to make sense of complicated emotions. Whether I’m screenprinting a series of tender oddities or building a soft sculpture with hidden weights inside, I want my work to invite people to look closer, laugh a little, and maybe wince with recognition.

bio: Electra is currently an MFA candidate in Studio Arts at George Washington University, where she continues to explore the sweet spot between cuteness and chaos, one patch, stitch, and hand-built piece at a time. Her works have been shown in multiple galleries and museums in DC, Maryland, Virgina, and New Orleans, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Corcoran School of the Arts & Design, Tulane University, and Transformer Gallery. She additionally owns and operates Electra Makes, an art and accessories brand with a comprehensive online presence and steady growth in both engagement and sales. Her products are sold in over 20 retail locations nationally and internationally, as well as her website, www.electramakes.com.