My journey with art has been an emerging process. I stumbled into art in high school when I took an independent study art class at St. Mary’s High School. I was given the assignment of making a self-collage, and what came out was surprising. I was moved in my spirit in ways words could not express. I felt a release of what was inside spew forth in a visual array. What I had no words for came out loudly in color and shape. It was raw, real, honest, beautiful, safe, and freeing. I loved it.
That semester, I found art to be a place my soul could both cry and dance without judgment, pretext, or spoken word.
As time passed, I earned a BS in Nutrition and became a Registered Dietitian, using art therapeutically for clients with eating and mood disorders.
I laid that job down to be a full time mom. Unexpectedly, however, we lost our first child at birth. The journey before us was to grieve well. In that journey with grief, art (creating) gave me space to lament and receive comfort.
Now, I pick up the palette knife for broader purpose: in times of gratitude; or grief, out of need to carve space for my soul. In this space I enjoy basking in His presence, taking time to pause, reflect, and grow. I hope the outpouring of my art gives others space to do the same.
