Guardian and the Guide , encaustic on birch , 34.25 x 23.75 x 3.5 inches , 2014
As a mother I now take on the storyteller role that my mother was for me . Many of those stories I grew up hearing have taken on a whole new meaning . I now tell stories of my own family intertwined with that of my past and with the past of my mother ’ s family . The Guardian and the Guide was one of the first pieces that the idea of seeing my world in a new way appeared to me in my work , now that I have children . I feel I am their guide and their guardian . I see the secrets that are whispered in the schoolyard from one child to another and the weight that carries , Sticks and Stones was from the childhood song with innocent little giggles and how the words would never hurt me , when it is the very words that could shadow one ’ s spirit for a lifetime .