BREAK+BLOOM - The Story

Creating beauty from my reflections on heartbreak, has been an act of courage and hope for me. This collection was made in part, by salvaging discarded wedding dresses, old love letters, bereavement cards and other treasures collected from my own and the heartbreak of others.
In a death and pain avoidant culture, I found it challenging to seek out elders for spiritual guidance while navigating my heartbreak after my engagement ended, and while putting my daughters through addiction treatment. Art making helped me become more intimate with my experience, as did spending time in nature, and sitting with others while sharing our stories to be reminded that they are our seasons. I have come to know that the deeper we allow ourselves to fully grieve, and accept this act as being holy...The more we are parenting ourselves into being unconditional with our self love... and how this in turn, helps us to become unconditional with our love of others. We can see someone in a choice they are making, or a lived circumstance they are in... and if we’ve journeyed through our own shadows, we can see another, in theirs and love them in the middle of their seasons.
When I meet someone who has a radiance to them, that settles my nervous system and allows me to feel the safety of being fully seen... It doesn’t take much time before I come to find that heartbreak has been what tumbled their sharp edges into the clarity that grounds them in the wisdom of love. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve experienced a personal tragedy... It means that they have allowed themselves to be present enough with what touches them.. In order fully feel the joy and sorrow of what it means to dwell beyond the safety of the mind, and live from their heart.
This collection is an exploration of the radiance and love I have encountered, by spending time with people who have broken and bloomed. It is also a prayer of sorts for me... a declaration of my devotion to continue learning how to live beyond the safety of my predictable mind. My surrender to having my heart broken and expanded into a greater capacity to love.. and to make art of a life more fully lived.