"Warning" Hand Embellished Print

From the collection “Flowers in the Desert”

Most of my dreams have taken me to the desert. I feel like maybe because it is a quiet place my guides and ancestors can take me to truly listen.

In the dreams I had concerning this series, I kept seeing flowers that do not belong in the desert growing big and bright and beautiful. Flowers like sunflowers that already hold a special meaning for me. I noticed they were still growing where they don’t necessarily belong. I realized that’s how I've felt for such a long time. I felt like I didn’t really belong in most spaces. But I see how I am still growing and blooming into this person my inner child is so proud of despite maybe not belonging.

The snakes in this work are secondary to the meaning of the flowers. The snakes represent society and the ideas that were pushed on me on how I should be or present myself in this world. We do have a part to play in this world, but I have come to understand we can be a part of it and not be of it. We don’t have to give into the lies of the “snake.” I hope these pieces resonate with you in the way they have with me.

I’ve worked hard to truly find grounding in myself and who I am. That’s not to say I haven’t been moved to sway. But the belief I have in myself is like the triangle. A mountain. Firm in where it stands. I’ve built a foundation that rests in that grounding in myself.