Still Blue Sparkle

The subject matter in this painting is meant to “stand in” as symbolic fragments of my identity, personal timeline, and deeply emotional experiences. The scarf here is one (of several items) that I crocheted myself during a very painful period of my life, and the hat and earrings are some of many that I've collected and worn over the years. These bits of therapeutic self-expression have helped to pull me just a bit further out of the relentless darkness enveloping me, providing a mental sanctuary for self-healing. The meticulously-rendered details represent how I observe things very closely and try to appreciate the seemingly trivial aspects that come together to make up the whole (such as the stitches on a scarf, or a little souvenir from a special trip). Each keepsake acts as a palpable existence of my past, including where and who I've been, what I’ve done, and how far I've come while enduring hardship.