48"x60" acrylic on canvas, 2022
 
One of my greatest sources of inspiration are words. I am a lover of language in the sense that the meanings and metaphors captured and conveyed through words make my heart beat with excitement. For example, I teach that the word “compass” is within “compassion” - our true guide, the thing that points us towards the home of the heart… The word “connect” is within “Connecticut” - a place to feel grounded within community, nature, our own discovery of self… This canvas was originally a piece with a working title of “Flow” - unfinished for years - watery, painted and poured mostly on the floor. When my marriage ended, this was the first canvas I brought to the studio wall with an allowance to revisit its content and aesthetics, and it became the visual representation of that chapter, changing with me. Releasing resistance, letting things be, and cultivating the ability to become more comfortable with discomfort, Liminal was born from these practices. An ongoing exercise in “letting be,” I needed to practice allowing the colors and transitions upon the canvas to be less intentional, less perfected and polished, more unrefined, more authentic, letting the entire piece represent the threshold from where it was to where it was going, who I was to who I am becoming. It retains the watery, fluid feel of its original motivation, while retaining the imperfect “work in progress” vibration that all of life really has. The emotional impact of highly contrasted darks and lights and the juxtaposition of complementary colors were intentional in the exploration of equanimity in the face of adversity.