This was the ad I made to find my roommate, Riley.
Today, it’s been more than four months since I found her.
Based on the my poster, you could probably imagine
what I had hoped for in a potential housemate.
Riley introduced herself as a “textile technologist and artist”
who “makes soft sculptures.” I had no idea what that meant.
I paint on wood panels I find on the street.
But I understood one thing:
I had the chance to live with someone who calls themselves an artist.
Your environment shapes who you are.
Who you live with defines your environment.
Riley and I are very different.
She likes to collect; I like to remove.
She loves animals; I love steak.
But her energy was exactly what I was looking for.
For the past couple of months,
Riley has been making dolls in our work room,
100 dolls, to be exact. Since then, our house has
triggered the OCD living inside me, but I leaned in.
I searched for more wood, made canvases out of cardboard,
and inhaled paint fumes. For every day spent in this house,
I wanted to make more.
That’s energy.
Riley and I are still learning to be friends.
We haven’t had many opportunities to really connect yet.
But I already appreciate what she’s contributed to this home:
a room that makes me want to create.