Artist Statement

I have always been passionate about practicing various crafts and skills and had a strong desire to excel at every subject I came across. I found that the reason I possessed such a passion for a wide variety of activities was my curiosity for the process of problem solving that I encountered in all of them. When I wanted to obtain a new level of skill or knowledge, I had to go through the same process - identifying obstacles and problems present and finding a way to overcome those problems by using a tool, strategy or principle. This is how I found that what I had been doing all along was essentially design thinking. The love for problem solving was as a catalyst for me to enter the field of design. I want to be engaged in a higher level of design thinking, ranging from the redesign of simple objects to the creation of new systems that help overcome global issues in diverse fields such as environmental sustainability and social welfare. My design philosophy is that if the solving of a problem results in the creation of another problem, then it is an act of selfishness and not of giving. This is why I seek to solve issues in a way most conducive to the preservation of natural resources and the environment. I believe that one of the things that can help us in leaving a legacy for future generations is being aware of our own cultural heritage. In some of my pieces, like the Lako food container, I have incorporated traditional shapes and patterns to support this view.