A Lot Happened
November 2021 - November 2023

In late fall of 2021, I began these drawings as weekly acts of meditation. Each one became part of a conversation, a message to my future self in a language I didn’t know. Informed by decades of medical and personal trauma, but not defined by it, a narrative of change took shape.

Like my best walks, I didn’t know the destination or the distance - I took one step, made one mark, at a time. I only knew for certain that the process of making was critical to interrogating my past. It was a way of understanding where I’ve been, so I can ask, “Where do I go now?”

-------

Initially due to time and space restraints, most of these drawings were created in one sitting and measure 8.5” x 11” or less. To keep true to the meditative aspect of working, I rarely planned any compositions out in advance. They were primarily improvised in the moment with common elements.

I began with images from my garden as a way to explore both my sense of physical and internal space - drawing became an act of mapmaking. Over time I added an icon of my home, which became a stand-in for my self. As I excavated memories and experiences in order to heal, ghost flowers came and went. Spirits can haunt, but they also protect and teach us. The flowers and memories and ghosts never stayed still for long. And when I finally let them, they became beautiful.

-------

A selection of 12 images from the series of over 100 (and one tattoo) is below.