Room to breathe

My In the raw series of work is all about pure, unbridled, unfiltered expression. It’s about taking my wordless feelings, what I have yet to say, and giving it space to stay wordless for a while, to be unclear, to say “I don’t know” and that’s okay. Creating visual art as well as lyrics and poetry is often a way for me to transition from my wordless feelings and intuition to clarity and being able to express myself directly in words.

This is a poem I wrote that relates to this piece —

Negative space, seeing the unseen?

What else can I do except, at times, let the what’s theres breathe?

Space and time, is that all I need? All I’ll ever … ?

I speak in poetry when I …

I speak in line taking a trip around the block …

I speak in whoosh and spin spin spin …

I don’t know. Is that all I ever …

Simple yet anything I’d add would just take away wouldn’t it … oh the barren beauty, the simple sweet embrace of negative space, seeing the unseen, I just let it be and it’s all I need …

About the In the raw collection

In swooping, swishing,
Over, under, around,
Splish and splat,
I say what I cannot (yet)

In line, in paint, in crumple up, rip,
Rip, cut, paste, overlap, uncover, reveal …

I’m searching for something,
I’m trying, trying to name something.

You may not know what it is,
I may not yet have the words,
Together we will call it and
Call upon something raw and real,
Something magic inside
So we no longer have to feel that
Bitter taste in the mouth,
Rotten overload, without the words for it …

And in calling it by its name,
We learn how to free ourselves from it

Naming,
Calling,
Singing it out,
Dancing it out,
Doodling it out …
This is how we find the courage …

This is how we survive and then someday,
Find a way to truly live,
Raw magic, really being here …

We can and we will