Collages, 2024

To alchemize the suffering that surrounds my experience of ambiguous loss into a healing visual field is the intention of this series. Through my meditative, process-based approach to composition, I seek to transmute the heavy energy (of sadness, fear, remorse, etc.) about Chelsea that I continuously carry in my heart. Materiality is critical here: I weave acrylics with sand and saltwater collected during my cold plunges and then collage in cyanotype, monotype, and remnants from my hand-press monoprinting process to mirror the dynamic layers of navigating this confounding situation.

Coastal colors ground the palette because the sea has been a grounding, transformative force in my life. I have done a plunge ritual nearly every other day for 3 years now as a way to expose myself to physical pain that I can transmute into psycho-somatic health simply by bearing it. Mirroring the imperfections of the human experience, they range between 60-72 inches high (all 42 inches wide) but are not uniform. These are among my largest pieces to date, attempting a “human scale” that feels like a portal that the viewer might walk into for a moment of contemplation.