Artist Statement
My piece is a topographic map of the Torrey Pines State Beach Reserve embroidered and hung in the embroidery hoop. Growing up less than five miles from Torrey Pines, the Pacific Beach has always been a big part of my life. Every Saturday morning, my mom makes it a point to wake me up at six a.m. to go for a run on the beach. And every Saturday, I grudgingly drag myself out of bed and into the car. But as soon as I step foot on the beach, it is worth every minute of sleep I traded in. However, the reality of climate change means that with every visit, the ocean swallows more and more of the beach. This is what inspired me to create my embroidered topographic map. In my piece, the two main roads near Torrey Pines Beach, Torrey Pines Road and the interstate five highway, run through the middle of the canvas in metallic red thread. In between the two roads are the contour lines depicted in warm, earthy colors. On either side of the roads are the blue and greens pushing in, trying to devour the land. Just like how our individual actions everyday affect the climate and planet that we live on, each stitch that went into making this piece seemed small, but accumulated after time to make a difference.
