Artist Statement:

I am an educator, which I think shows in some of my pieces. I write a lot about my childhood. It is a rose: alluring, sweet, but thorned. I have lived, worked, and traveled abroad a fair amount over the last twenty-five years. This influence is particularly clear in my visual pieces. The most crucial and prevailing lens and reach of my work is based on my identity as a woman and urgent protectorship of other women/womxn globally including sexual freedom, positive body image, and equal rights.

These three photographs are part of my Japan collection. You can view more from this collection in The Amazine, Deep Overstock, The Fool’s World, and Vagabond City.

Two writing prompts to go with the photograph “Wabi-Sabi” 

Wabi-Sabi Writing Prompt One: Are you familiar with the concept of wabi-sabi? This is a Japanese aesthetic philosophy about finding beauty in the imperfect. I encourage you to examine your life and find something that is wabi-sabi. Why is it flawed and why is it beautiful? 

Wabi-Sabi Writing Prompt Two: The ceramic box depicted in the photograph “Wabi-Sabi” has been treated in the kintsugi style or kintsukuroi which translates to golden repair. This is a technique in which pottery is repaired or pieced back together using decorative metallics. The idea is that the breakage is part of the story of the piece and should not be hidden. What is your kintsugi story? 

Recommended listen for this photograph collection:

I had the great pleasure of seeing Chihiro Yamanaka live in Tokyo and I highly recommend you give this phenomenal pianist a listen.