Baker Artist Portfolios

The ‘Impression’ series is created by capturing impressions of materials in concrete by applying different forces before the concrete dries. 
For each piece a container is made to hold the form. The dimensions depend on the general shape desired. Various materials are put in the container along with concrete. Forces such as impact, pressure, and centrifugal forces are applied. After the concrete dries and the piece is taken out of the container, some of the materials are removed. This leaves a permanent impression in the concrete with traces of what was once there.

The ‘Impression’ series is created by capturing impressions of materials in concrete by applying different forces before the concrete dries. 
For each piece a container is made to hold the form. The dimensions depend on the general shape desired. Various materials are put in the container along with concrete. Forces such as impact, pressure, and centrifugal forces are applied. After the concrete dries and the piece is taken out of the container, some of the materials are removed. This leaves a permanent impression in the concrete with traces of what was once there.

The ‘Impression’ series is created by capturing impressions of materials in concrete by applying different forces before the concrete dries. 
For each piece a container is made to hold the form. The dimensions depend on the general shape desired. Various materials are put in the container along with concrete. Forces such as impact, pressure, and centrifugal forces are applied. After the concrete dries and the piece is taken out of the container, some of the materials are removed. This leaves a permanent impression in the concrete with traces of what was once there.

A celebration of healing and rebirth activated by cleansing. A releasing of past trauma, sorrow, and injury in a sacred space. A ceremony created to elicit cessation, processing, breathing, and mindfulness. A performative act of vulnerability. An immersive celebration. An ancient feminine practice of ritual bathing. An initiation that evokes purifying the vessel, calming the mind, opening the spirit, and transmuting that which no longer serves. A restorative process. A moment of self fortification. A place for gentle healing.

A series which focused on the stories of survivors of sexual assault, following a particular form, provided online which allowed an individual to have a piece made to be added to the series. The pieces were displayed as hanging vessels which precariously could break should their supporting line fail. A phrase in the survivor's own handwriting is added to the side of their vessel.

2018

Hair is a part of all of us. It is anchored in our skin.  We live
within it.  African American hair styles and designs have enjoyed a rich,
multi-hemispheric tradition spanning centuries that are both the product of
and a response to the systemic racism and atrocities which African-
Americans and their ancestors are all too well acquainted.  Hair techniques
and treatments have been a slow-developing industry, often employed not only to
make black hair more manageable but more like the “Caucasian ideal.”   

My work is an experiment in translating traditional East Asian art forms onto the Western canvas. Such artistic vision lead to expressing such  vivacious energy when captured onto a two dimensional surface revealing unique patterns of textures. For example, rough surfaces enhance the sense of dimension, visual depth and life. As an artist, I have adapted such themes of nature of our earth dealing with artistic visions of the East, such as heaven, flowers, and ancient pictographs into abstract images and forms.