“The irreversibility of time is what brings chaos out of order” - Prigogine

This piece, Tangible, is the first of a new series. Viewing it as part of a whole, it is my emergence from my last visual art series, Vortices. I moved through that journey into a study of sacred geometry in a variety of mediums (that persistently obsesses!), and worked my way back through into visual art with a piece called Portal. From this viewpoint, I sense Tangible provides insight into my deepening process as an artist; my path as a whole human. 

I create intuitively. This means allowing connection with my thoughts, emotions, and experiences. By expressing these through {mediums}______, the process is therapeutic and cathartic, providing self-discovery and reflection.

My last series, Vortices, speaks to the greater power of creative process over end result. In this series, the experience of creating becomes more nuanced: recognizing the journey as equally significant as the finished work. It involves accessing the deeper layers of the psyche (self?) and making space for both contemplation and impulse to guide the creative process so it is neither rash nor unfinished. 

If art is a representation of perspective - a visual of my inner world - what was I thinking, feeling, and experiencing as Tangible became, well, in a word, tangible? From the start, unlike my previous creations, I had a very specific theme: a story to be shared.

Vortices is a swirling tumble of an upended world. As a maker, I felt compelled to make sense out of the senseless: a traumatic loss experience that destroyed structure and order, which had been my way to cope through other traumas. Holding fast to the ideas of strength and resilience became not only impossible, but something I recognized as futile. It is only in hindsight that I can acknowledge what I strive for is adaptability: embracing uncertainty and recognizing the inability to change what is beyond our control. In this way, I have shifted my purpose as an artist to become a means for not only helping myself, but in helping others see themselves within my work, my story, and render tangible growth born of sustaining chaos.

With this series, I come to the canvas with a clear purpose. The end result is still emergent, and I am often as surprised as anyone to see what comes out. The focus here is on the tangible supports that have played a crucial role in my wellness journey, which began half a lifetime ago, halfway around the world in Belfast. It was a crucial moment to recognize my unmet mental health needs, and benefitting from help and support to process the traumas of being an orphan adopted into physical and sexual child abuse; a career military war veteran; and more recently, the grief of death by suicide of a loved one.

Let’s face it folks, is anybody of getting out of here scot-free?  

I am so grateful for the resources I have been able to access. These accessible supports are important in mental health as they provide practical assistance, create a sense of security, facilitate social connection, grant access to resources, and empower individuals. It is dignity and adaptability - not temporary happiness and unyielding resilience - that are fundamental rights of every person.

Tangible is a dedication to wellness that the necessary, vital, and life-saving supports can achieve. Like my work on the bench and on the easel, I am a work in progress. This piece represents an attempt render tangible my gratitude and also as a call to action: for my thoughts, feelings, and experiences to serve as a tool for creating space to focus on the stigma causing mental health needs to go unmet, to ensure that all, especially those whose access to supports in this life are consistently unmet and unseen, may have the ultimate freedom: choice.