Alaine’s Chair (2023)

This is a piece inspired by a teacher I had in high school, Alaine Davis. Alaine passed away the summer before I started college, and I felt the loss deeply. Alaine’s presence in our school was massive — we all admired how much grace, kindness, creativity, and love she gave to our community. As our science teacher, she instilled a passion for biology and environmental science within me. As an artist, I was profoundly inspired by her colorful paintings that decorated our classrooms. It was by her encouragement that I decided to commit to RISD for college, since she graduated from and spoke highly of Brown University and Providence.

Purple was her favorite color. She had a chair in her office that was painted beautifully with purple zentangles, and I remember feeling so at home sitting in that chair whenever I needed to chat with her. For this piece, I painted a chair of my own with the same style of zentangles she loved, then covered the chair in purple flowers I crocheted.

Alaine’s boundless creativity and love for the world and learning continues to inspire me throughout my time at RISD, and I remember her whenever I see something purple.