The Art
Nature Healing Series
For years, I could tell that my health was progressively worsening. My doctors diligently treated symptom after symptom, but were unable to pinpoint the cause. Even though I have lived with chronic autoimmune diseases for decades, the situation was incredibly disconcerting. With my body weakening, I separated myself from friends and family, believing that I was protecting them.
The only place I could find solace was in the woods behind my house. Witnessing the changing of the seasons was inspiring to me. A dead, fallen tree might find itself home to a luscious carpet of moss. A small trickle of water during the summer might turn into a moving stream come fall. Nature had a way of rejuvenating itself, which brought me hope that my body might find itself revitalized during a new season.
My paintings from 2018 and 2019 are full of dark and somber colors. Because I was afflicted with a series of strokes due to cardiac issues during that time, there is a sense of frustration in the pieces: the paintbrush in my hand would not go where I wanted it to go; blind spots in my vision meant that I would paint over my work accidentally. Despite this, there is certainly a feeling of movement and a faint feeling of hope to them.
In 2020, I had open heart surgery and began the long process of recovery. Once again, I found solace in nature. I began to explore an organic shape in my artwork that I identify with as hope and possibility. It has often been described by others as a hollowed tree, nest, fruit, seed, oyster, egg, womb, or cell. The paintings in 2021 and 2022 present a new and vivid perspective of nature filled with bright colors and enthusiasm.
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The Process Series
“The Process” taps into a powerful question that, due to the miracle of modern medicine, many people are asking themselves: What happens when I can no longer physically be who I used to be?
“I hope you get well soon.” This sentence has been told me thousands upon thousands of times in the course of my health journey. However, the nature of my autoimmune diseases makes it so that I may never be as “well” as I once was. I have come to understand that recovery is not a destination, but rather a process.
I explore the process of recovery through an organic shape that I identify with as hope and possibility. It has often been described by others as a hollowed tree, nest, fruit, seed, oyster, egg, womb, or cell. I recognize this shape occurring throughout nature, as well as within the human body. It constantly manifests itself in most of my art, since I was first diagnosed at the age of nineteen while in art school.
“The Process” is an exhibition of acrylic paintings that I began in 2021, while recovering from heart surgery. I recognized my recovery as an opportunity to transform myself – spiritually, mentally, and physically – as well as an opportunity to experiment with new concepts in my art works that I never allowed myself to explore before. They are filled with movement and vibrant colors – mirroring my personal process of recovery with its ups and its downs.
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Queen of the Night Series
In the summer of 2022, I was invited over to my neighbor’s house at midnight to watch the blooming of their Queen of the Night flower (epipyllum oxypetalum, sometimes known the Dutchman’s pipe cactus). This exquisite flower blooms only once a year, in the darkness of the night, and releases a sweet scent. When the sun rises in the morning, the bloom is gone.
It was an emotional experience to witness the emergence of something so beautiful that it was almost otherworldly, knowing that its beauty was fleeting. Likewise, as the bloom was obscured by darkness, I was struck by how simple it would have been to miss this experience.
Conceptually, I began to ponder on all of the beauty that surrounds us in life that is likewise fleeting. If you aren’t looking for it, you won’t find it. Likewise, if you don’t appreciate the beauty while it is there, it may disappear. "Queen of the Night", which I started in 2022, utilizes the flower as a basis for exploration into the concept of elusive and concealed beauty.
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Takotsubo Series
In February of 2023, while doing an artist talk at my solo exhibition at the Spartanburg Community College Library, I began to feel ill. Afterwards, I was rushed to the hospital, where it was determined that I had an acute incident of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, often known as the “broken heart” syndrome.
Takotsubo is a Japanese word, that signifies a ceramic vase that is used to trap octopus by fishermen. The octopus fit themselves inside of the takotsubo because they feel protected in such a small space. The fishermen then pull up the vases via ropes. The syndrome takes on this name because, when enlarged, the left ventricle takes on the unique shape of the takotsubo.
I am still in recovery from my “broken heart” and will likely not gain the strength and stamina I had previously for many months. Despite this, I began a new series of paintings based on this experience. I explore the concepts of what a “broken heart” truly means and the process of health recovery, all while utilizing the unique imagery of the takotsubo, octopi, and the ocean.
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Other Works
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