Laguna College of Art + Design

Holding Still and Letting Go captures powerful personal emotions and intimate

experiences and transforms them symbolically as universal expressions for the human

condition. The themes in this collection are based on two profound periods—during early

childhood and later in midlife—where I experienced a deep sense of separation and loss in its

many forms; physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. My work may take

cues from actual life, but it is my imagination that creates my own unique perspective of

reality. The paintings are visual equivalents of combined stories based on my memories,

thoughts, and musings. They reveal themes of loss, isolation, perseverance, and selfdiscovery,

and are all told through the use of toys and miniature-scale objects. Any story that

can be pried from them must be deduced from subtle clues that I provide. Like with an

unsolved mystery, withholding details leaves more room for the viewer’s imagination to run

wild. Influenced by my childhood toys, I reclaim my inner-child as I play with reality and

paint symbolic representations of miniaturized worlds. I am able to subvert the playfulness of

these toys as a tool to explore through which I explore deeply emotional material. By

painting these adult themes in a playful manner, I am able to contort the sometimes harsh

realities of our daily existence into something whimsical and more meaningful. My paintings

have helped me unravel the mystery of what lies in the depths of my mind, heart, and spirit.

They have become the keys to a better understanding of who I am as a human being (and as

an artist) and where my place is in this world.