I make art because it tugs me, colors conjuring bones, stories I still carry, witness I have borne. Because I am in awe of how, in the midst of fear, art helps us rise again. Art is one of the strongest bridges I know, winding us between and across enemy lines, smudging borders like so much charcoal dust. It is an important part of how I pray.

My artwork is an outstretched palm, seeking community, inviting dialogue. It is my way of asking people to add their own creativity into a collective vision for victory over our toughest struggles. Together we call on beauty to get us through the difficult questions.

Although I have created many solo pieces over the course of my career, much of my current work uses a participatory call and response process to create a public product. Firmly grounded in principles of nonviolence and conflict reconciliation, prompts channel anger at unjust conditions towards a shared envisioning of future solutions. Participants are provided specific materials and palettes and invited to create a piece of the whole. These pieces are then integrated into the larger composition.

My hope is that each new person’s idea, image, or text may feel like a discovery for the viewer, tucked in amidst the bright twists and turns of the whole. And that maybe, just maybe, this may ignite a viewer’s own ideas for solution-building, or move them closer to their own bit of reconciliation. This is my challenge, my striving, the urge that keeps me up at night. This is why I make art.