When I paint, I generally don't know consciously what is under the surface of my choices. Sometimes, however, due to a certain question regarding my work, or a circumstance in my life that makes me reflect a bit deeper, I can see the underlying feelings in my work more clearly. Certainly, I know this to be true about the scale of my work. In a moment of vulnerability, I can see that I struggle with feeling invisible, small, and untethered in a world where I was never a person who fit in anywhere quite comfortably. From my earliest memories as a young girl all the way to my present days, I have felt like an outlier in the world, like I see the world differently than others around me, like others see me in a way I don't understand, where I either am or would prefer to be unseen.

I usually would prefer to cover these feelings, and rarely would even admit them,  and certainly most days I can. I am, after all, happily married to a person who loves me wholly,  with whom I do fit, and I have three children with whom I  feel like the most authentic and full version of myself.  Still, under my surface, lies  difficult feelings of invisibility and uncertainty about my connection to the world at large. Thankfully, in my artwork, I am given a chance to create something that is unapologetically free, that can't help but be seen, that can be bold, and make an impact... in a way I never felt I could.