The Quiet Knowing 

(23 Years of Loneliness and All I Had To Do Was Look Under Rocks)

Oil paint, canvas, found object, natural dyes (onion, carrot, turmeric, blueberry, walnut,) linocut relief stamp, image transfer, dirt, sand, collected plants and rocks

2026

I have come to understand myself through insects. They are a socially isolated and oftentimes vilified but an essential part of our ecosystem. I have found myself relating heavily to the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of insects and utilize painting as my method of reconstruction for these narratives. 

When it came to developing the visual language of my body of work, I was asked how I have come to understand myself. This pushed me to develop pieces that I think not only represent the profound comfort that nature has provided me and how I view myself, but the community I have been able to find because of it. Through a more relaxed and painterly technique I wanted to convey more of myself within these spaces, the fragmentation of memory, the kaleidoscopic lens of my existence interfacing with nature and with others (human and insect alike) that has allowed me to develop a community of my own. Utilizing natural dyeing processes the non-representational pieces within the body of work form a web of memories, tied to specific materials. Materials like turmeric, known to reduce the effects of dementia, reinforce the intertwining with nature that I believe is fundamental to knowing me, and knowing those I love. 

Accompanying these pieces are natural objects that have been gifted to me, intentionally chosen because the community I have formed knows me. Most individuals are not happy to receive a dead bug for their birthday, or a bone for Christmas, but to me these are the greatest gifts I have been given. These gifts say, “Yes, I understand you.” 

Through my body of work I hope to show others that community is the quiet knowing; it is the bug beneath every rock.