The characters and landscapes I create are an escape for me. Using traditional craft methods like embroidery and beadwork, I slowly build up the surfaces in my drawings and paintings. When I construct my environments, I embellish layers of details that correspond to the narrative in a lengthy process.
I feel disconnected from our society’s rapid advancement in technology and our subsequent loss of non-digital leisure. I long for a time when things were made for craftsmanship rather than obsolescence. Obsessively stitching bio-mechanical figures is my way of grappling with these issues. The repetitive motions in sewing allow my mind to wander around environments of my sole creation, leaving me to figure out reasons for their existence. I find satisfaction in my artistic control of these places that at times feel more tangible and manageable than the world I live in.

-Camille Canales