ABOUT THE BOWLS AND CUPS
The past few years have been challenging — a time of reflection and adjustment.
I fell into a rut. I was left feeling drained and uninspired, found it difficult to paint, and needed to channel these ups and downs into my work.
Food has always been central to my life. Joyful childhood gatherings centered around a large spread. The adventure of experiencing new flavors. The excitement of finding my next favorite. Overindulging and dealing with the reality of a slowing metabolism. Feeling grounded in nourishment. Knowing the void left from the absence of it. Fighting sorrow as I watch my loved ones struggle with eating too much or too little because of sneaky deep depressions or impossible anxieties brought on by dementia.
I began acknowledging my meals as experiential metaphors and a meditation on these thoughts. They became visual journals, capturing both the literal meal and the thoughts and feelings I would experience during each meal — thought maps where symbolic color associations, object orientation, and marks express my daily emotional journey.
Through these pieces, I try to give levity to heavy thoughts, and, on the flip side, give weight to joyful experiences. They're an attempt to recognize these fleeting moments, to acknowledge their worth, and to remind myself that the smallest details collectively shape a larger narrative — one I'm continuously working to better understand and navigate.
