March 8th

It’s officially been two years since my mom’s transition. It’s never an easy thing to move forward after “losing” a pillar in your life. Using the word pillar to describe a person’s impact on your life is very fitting in this context because when she left, (the foundation and structure) that she had built and supported (me) started to crumble. When she transitioned, life felt like it was falling apart. So now here we are 2 years later and I’m still trying to pick up the pieces and sift through the rubble in attempts to piece together everything that was lost on this day two years ago. I’d be remised however if I only acknowledged what was lost on that day without acknowledging what was born from that day. Externally, the bond between my siblings and I have gotten stronger, as close as me and my family are, we’ve gotten even closer, I’ve become more sensitive and in tune with energy and the subtle changes in energy around me, taking life and things for granted don’t come as easy any more which is a blessing, as beautiful and as aw inspiring as nature was prior to March 8^th, 2024, it has become even more beautiful and even more aw inspiring now because now I see my mom in every sunrise, in every sunset, in every full moon, in every tree in bloom, I see her in every butterfly that floats across my face, in every deer that runs across the road on a foggy morning, I see her in every white crane and in every red cardinal that makes a random cameo at some point in my day. Being able to see her in nature has been therapeutic to say the least, the most therapeutic thing to be born from all of this though is obviously my journey as a visual artist. I’ll spare you the details about that here, but I have a couple blogs you can read about if you’re wondering about my journey and how it started though. But I digress, March 8^th 2026, and it’s just as unbelievable today as it was on March 8^th 2024, it’s just that today I have things to be thankful for as opposed to back then when all I saw and was experiencing was my world crumbling around me. This blog, the artwork, the photography are all examples of the resiliency of the human spirit. If you haven’t tapped in to the contents of this site, I would encourage you to do so… And if you do decide to tap in to the content of this website, I would encourage you to consume this content with the knowledge that everything you see was built from the ashes and rubble that were left behind on March 8^th, 2024…. How could a day so dark turn into expressions so beautiful and heartfelt? Only because of the soul that reflected that same beauty…

It was never my intentions to sell any of my artwork. In fact, for a while I was adamant about not selling any of it because of what this journey represents to me. But as an artist, (which I have been all of my life), one of the most fulfilling things is when your art touches the heart and minds of the consumer/observer/supporter. True artistry is being true to one’s self, but in being true to one’s self, other people will also find deep meaning as well. And when (as an artist) you experience a person appreciating your work, it is a feeling that motivates you to keep standing in that void. It motivates you to keep diving inward to pull out those things that other people are scared to excavate themselves. Artist are therapists for cultures and civilizations, and being aware of that sometimes creates a sense of obligation.

The more I shared my artwork with people, the more they began to express how it touched/affected them. And as I mentioned before, this created a sense of obligation within me to keep sharing. Eventually people kept asking me if would ever sell any of my pieces, some people wouldn’t even ask, they’d just throw me an offer, to which I would ALWAYS decline. No piece I’ve ever created has been for capitalistic reasons. Each piece is an integral  part of my healing journey, and the thought of selling my originals always gives me anxiety. It’s almost like selling pieces of myself, sometimes it even feels like selling pieces of me and my mother’s relationship… the memories, her lasting impact, and my life in general are all I have left of her…those things are all intangible … but every time I create a piece it’s as if I’m taking those intangible things and making them tangible. They hold that much meaning to me. So selling any of them will never sit right within my spirit. However, at the same time, I still was experiencing that void of wanting people to be able to be blessed with the art I was creating. My mother was a special person and I feel like the world could really use a person like my mother. The memory and the essence of my mother is in every single piece I create…so naturally I did on some level want my art to decorate people’s homes.

After about a year of turning down offers and explaining to people that none of my pieces are for sale, and after brainstorming for a year I finally decided what I would do. I decided I would create prints…this would be my compromise. I didn’t want to outsource print production because that gets expensive. So I researched things like printers, paper, resolution, color theory and many other things so that I could bring this vision into reality. Fast forward to New Years day 2026, That’s when I finally decided I would become self sufficient and make prints myself, which  feels fulfilling. I’m thankful because even in the midst of extreme grief, I have been able to extend the spirit of my mother to others. And that is something I am proud of. And I was able to do it without compromising my beliefs or morals. Everything isn’t about money, and anything I do in my mother’s honor will never be about that, this website and the offering of replicas of my art is sincerely a labor of love. An endeavor that was highly unlikely in the first place. Sprouted from a seed planted in the ashes on the hardest day I’ve ever endured.

I love you forever Ma.