HAVEN: A Solo Show
Dwell Fine Art & Craft
February—March 2023

During the summer of 2021, I was granted an artist residency at the Peter Bullough Foundation in Winchester, VA. This wonderful opportunity came at a time when many of us were feeling the strain of prolonged isolation and trying to adjust to our ‘new normal’ in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

People were starting to make tentative trips out of isolation; masks were optional but there was still a feeling of unease with our surroundings and each other that pervaded most interactions. As a wife and mother of four daughters, space and time have always been a luxury, but it felt even more so then. I was determined to take full advantage of this opportunity to reignite my creativity. 

Physically, the studio was the largest space I had ever worked in, and I leveraged that to create my largest work to date. My day always began with the same ritual: walking through the gardens, opening the doors to take in the day’s lighting, tying on my apron while I assessed the previous day’s work, turning on music, and preparing paints on my palette. The studio became a sacred space, my own personal safe HAVEN.

This became evident in my work, manifesting as freedom and vibrancy. Everything in these paintings speaks to a shedding of physical boundaries: the loose mark-making, introspective and optimistic colors, and paint that’s allowed to spread and drip. 

 For me, this series of paintings has the capacity to transport me to a time of expression and freedom that is exhilarating and uplifting. My sincere hope is that some of the joy, that sense of ease and happiness, will also be felt by the viewer.