Painting is a refuge for me.

            When I experience physical or emotional pain, I turn to painting. I use syringes and a bright and saturated palette to create different patterns and textures to convey the complexity, vitality and vulnerability that runs through all life forms—billions of cells in harmony, which allude to a healthy “tree of life.”  Many of the forms are influenced by my background and interest in embroidery and crochet. I see in the finished work how my emotional and physical pain has become embossed on the birch wood panel, much like embroidery is stitched on fabric.

            Experiencing chronic pain makes it easy to overstate life’s difficulties. Painting reminds me how astonishing it all is as well.