Motherhood and the pandemic began a period of movement and rebuilding in my life. During that time, I worked to find a new community, and my own place within it, while seeking the same for my family. For the first time, I came to see belonging as something that must be built, tended, and strengthened.
Looking back on moments of connection in my childhood, I now recognize the quiet kinkeeping and community-building work my mother and the women around her did to make those bonds possible. As our culture grows more divided, the act of belonging, and the care it requires, feels both more essential and more delicate.
In my watercolor work, I let the water take the lead, following the natural pathways and colors that unfold. In this series, I reposition and sew to build upon those pathways, creating and building something both intentional and partially unknown. This work is a meditation on the work of building something with both intention and acceptance, and the hope for connection.