"Preserved or Smothered?" was painted to remind all married parents that each of us has agency. As best phrased by Stephen Foster in the lyrics of “My Old Kentucky Home”, when “hard times come a knockin’ at the door”, we can choose to dwell in the past and feel smothered by all that we see as going wrong, or we can choose uplifting thoughts that have the power to preserve our marriages and families. It’s all a matter of choice.

In the “Reflecting Nature” series, I explored the beauty and complexity of the modern family navigating the pressures of the 21st Century through the depiction of birds’ nests nestled into polished glass vases, bell jars, and other reflective surfaces.