It all began over a decade ago, sitting on the porch of the space I shared doing soul-tending healing work. My friend was telling me about the training she had just returned from, learning to heal the ancestral lines with Christina Pratt. As she spoke, a sensation like being poked with needles in the back of my eyeballs started. It continued for a bit until I said “ I think I need some of that,”. Apparently, my ancestors had access to the back of my eyeballs to get my attention. 
This session was focused on my father's side of the family tree. Clearing an imprint of struggle. I went home with so much strength flowing through the left side of my body. I had to try doing pushups with the strength of my ancestors. 
This was the beginning of my focus on exploring the energetic imprint of our lineage, and how the experience of our kin is written into our DNA, the good, the bad, and the ugly. What is written there holding us in patterns that did not begin with us. Bringing all of that into the threads of DNA organization, weaving them into a pattern that becomes you. The practice of ancestor lineage healing is very much part of traditional healing. I was unaware of what is possible, This opened up so much understanding of how the backlog of ghost energy is holding us collectively. As I grew in awareness, I was fascinated by the details, the story of what is holding us. How some of us are here to “do the work” often end up rendered useless by the collective unprocessed grief. 
This led me on a decades-long journey of honoring feeding and being in communication with my kin. There were parts of my lineage that appeared as burnt-out sections of self. The harm they did to themselves and others still reverberates on this earth plane. 
How to help those who are not yet well receive the gifts that came through my people, bringing compassion and healing into the unwell parts. This is a lateral healing, extending to all those who are related to me. It is both complicated and simple. It is compassion and forgiveness for truly terrible behavior.
I have focused on my own ancestors and helping others do the same. When I first had the vision for this painting, I was not sure I could paint it. The woven threads were outside of my abilities at the time, so I put a pin in it. This year, I decided to give it a try. In May 2024, I did a photoshoot with my friend Nayeli who does backstrap weaving. She has been working on a project exploring weaving as a community-building practice. 

This painting brings the vision into form.
My portrait of the Weaver of the soul.