Personal Statement

I grew up surrounded by art and artists. Drawing, painting, crafting, sewing and design were parts of my everyday life. At the age of six, I told my supportive, yet skeptical, mother I was going to make a skirt. I then sewed myself into a very pink, floral and arguably wearable garment. When I offered to make my mother one she agreed and wore my creation to work, my big debut. 

The collaborative environments in which I have had the privilege to participate in have afforded me several opportunities to bring my enthusiasm for crafting, sewing, and costume design to productions. I found my love for historical garments and fashions while doing in-depth extracurricular historical research projects. Prior to my undergraduate work, I was a self-taught seamstress, occasionally attending classes or camps and learning what I could from internet tutorials. At Colorado State University, I had the invaluable experience of working for six semesters in the Costume Shop. I learned best practices for theatrical sewing, I was introduced to new equipment and processes such as industrial sewing machines and flat patterning. I took advantage of the costume design and tech classes offered throughout my tenure at Colorado State University, including Costume Design, Costume Construction, Costume Crafts, Hair and Makeup, and Historic Costume alongside the performance classes. I also had the opportunity to costume design a short film and assistant design an opera. My generous mentors not only shared their technical knowledge but also helped me understand life in the field and how an operating professional costume shop and collaborative design team optimally work.

My special interests in garment construction include but are not limited to, how fashion is affected by social structures and historic events, hand embroidery and most recently, quilting.