My work is a visual collection of emotion. All art surfaces are rich in color and texture, coming from my emotional, intellectual, and spiritual states of being. My work is free from the boundaries of traditional picture-making; thus, it is easier to explore my own psyche. with the textural layering of paint, and sometimes added materials of sand, string, and discarded drawings, lead to expressive mark-making in meaningful contexts evident in this body of art. That the subconscious is at work, there is no doubt, that is almost sacred and where I strive to prepare my subconscious for painting in a ritual that may involve a more pensive/meditative state of being. All of these artworks were informed by literature about people who have suffered trauma and their journey to survival and more recently informed by stories from the island of Saipan where I was teaching and living prior to the Pandemic. These artworks strive to heal and evoke positive feelings in the viewer.