My drawings are like diary entries. They are ways to cope with loss and hurt, but also to reclaim my imagination and faith. I make work inspired by nostalgic memories. In recalling these images, I am claiming them as part of my identity. These drawings document my interactions, my relationships, and heartbreak while I attempt to foster a new sense of connection and belonging. They mimic the feeling of every goodbye with which I have ever struggled.
In the movie Violet, the main character refers to the self-critical voices in her head as “the committee.” I have been aware of my own committee for most of my life. My process is a reaction to those voices. I spill ink when I am angry, when I don’t have words to articulate my own depression or longing. Tracing paper mimics my own fragility, my loneliness, and my tendency to waiver between vulnerability and anger. The words and images that appear echo these critical voices, but sometimes they are my rebuttal. This process allows me to pause, to evaluate, and to respond in a way that validates my experience.
