Studio Antipode

Come see my art at the Personal Panacea show , curated by ! Reception is next Friday, August 1st from. 6-8pm!

"One Piece at a Time", ink, copic marker, and foil on watercolor paper, 2025. 9x12".

I have struggled with depression and anxiety throughout most of my life. A few years ago, it was the worst it had ever been: I felt utterly isolated, broken, and bereft of joy. I didn’t care about anything and had given up hope. A friend had gifted me a spider plant and I had mostly kept it alive. One day, I decided to focus on reviving that plant - one thing I could focus on outside myself. Over the following months, the spider plant grew and grew, reinvigorated by the attention. Knowing I had it in me to care enough about something to help it thrive lit a fire within me. Soon, I had quite the indoor plant collection and started learning the art of bonsai. I began planting native perennials and flowers in my yard. I had the confidence to finally follow through with my childhood dream and got a dwarf reticulated python I named Valentine. The next summer I adopted a horsefield tortoise, Rook.

One piece at a time, caring for my plants and animals allowed me to reconstruct a sense of self and brought me back from the brink. While my family and community were always there, trying to support me the best they could, I needed to take those initial steps myself - to prove to myself that I had the capacity to love again.