Breaking through, breaking free

My path is not to use my heart to make my abusers and their enablers feel comfortable at my expense, and at the expense of others who I love and who understand how to love me back.

My path is to use my heart to enjoy life and be present with this world, to love and be loved in ways that align with my values, and to make art and share it in a way that is made possible by my heart, by my love, by my experiencing life.

About the Cycle Breakers collection

Each of the works in my Cycle Breakers series has gone through many stages. The layers underneath look very different! Yet, there is a common thread in the process: creating from stillness, peace, and clarity then creating with bold strokes from intense emotion, and vice versa, repeat, repeat.

Breaking cycles is similar: there’s beauty, hope, and clarity behind the choice to be a cycle breaker. Yet, there’s also messy, wild, intense, confusing, and frustrating emotions to be felt while breaking free and maintaining the boundaries needed to stay free.

The artworks in this series express this duality, my heartbreak AND my hope as a cycle breaker. I hope they also bring validation, solidarity, and understanding to others who've made the beautiful and painful choice to heal from trauma.