We are all made to create

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am an abstract and figurative artist residing in Wilmington, NC. Painting and creative expression is a means for me to take up space and make my mark on this world. Coming from a culture where women are meant to be in the background and are expected to serve everyone before themselves, over the years I have slowly began to disassemble this belief. Painting has been my way of working through my history and creating a new narrative for myself.

I began to dive deep into painting when my kids were babies and my sense of self was completely wrapped up in who they were. I needed an outlet solely for myself. I began to research watercolor painting, I took a class on oil and cold wax painting, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to create.

My abstract paintings allow me to focus on the process, the interaction of colors and textures to work through my history and to tell a story. My figurative paintings are strongly influenced by the 11 years I spent working as an occupational therapist in hospital settings. I was witness to many lives changing and observed how the human body can function one day and completely change the next. I also experienced many years of infertility, my body changing and letting me down in ways I didn’t expect. However, this has shown me how the body is an incredible vessel for carrying and expressing our soul, even though it can physically let us down. Art is my means of exploring my inner soul, processing my life experiences, and expressing it to the world.

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