Interior Architect, Artist, Public Speaker
Drops in The Ocean in a Drop
Drops in The Ocean in a Drop, focuses on shared wisdom of comfort during this sea change we are collectively experiencing.
In April, 2020, at the beginning of the U.S. pandemic lockdowns, I sent out a survey asking people what brings them comfort and why. 70 people from around the globe thoughtfully responded. In order to share each person's wisdom in an intuitive and easy-to-digest manner, I've chosen to translate each survey response into a painting infused with haiku.
Envisioning each painting as a drop of healing, I chose sea stars as a theme for their resilience and ability to regenerate. Diverse in appearance, yet maintaining recognizable form, starfish represent fierce individuality and collective strength. In Christian and Egyptian myth, the sea star represents the Divine Mother, watching over seafarers, which is a good metaphor for us all during this tsunami of change we are experiencing!
Each star is a universe unto itself--just like each of us. I begin by reading and feeling through a survey response. From there I distill the response into a haiku. After writing the poem, I take a 3" x 3" square of watercolor paper and begin drawing the "comfort personality" of that starfish. Some have five arms, others have 20. The arms take on curls, spikes, and unique forms that embody the survey response. I use watercolor, pencil, ink and gel pens. Also, words have power, and it's important that the words of the poem are infused into each painting.
This project is in-progress and I will be sharing each survey translation as they are created here and through social media:
