Each piece in this series began as a photograph printed on archival paper. They were then altered through the application of plant-based pigments, acrylic paint, ink, collage, charcoal, conte crayon, thread, watercolor paint and graphite. At its heart, this body of work examines change. It began at a time when I was pretty newly diagnosed with a chronic illness, and also grappling with the new and yet not novel ways in which my woman's body was ageing. In that summer of 2023, it wasn't a question of if, or when, change would occur; change happened. I am still exploring this new terrain. In one way or another, I think we are all at a crossroads. On personal, societal, and environmental levels, there is no going back and the way forward is unclear. It's an uncomfortable place to be, and yet we must find a way to inhabit it. It's the only way through. This work invites us to breathe through the hard parts, and be supported by the beauty we find along the way.

You can read more about the process of making this series here.

A couple notes of inspiration and attribution:

• The song about wanting to be like a bird, which I reference in the poem, is by Amanda Shires. You can have a listen to it here.

• “The map is not the territory” (the title to one of the pieces in this series) is a phrase that was coined by Alfred Korzybski in 1933. It describes the maps we create and/or inherit, the way we use them to navigate life, and the way we can mistake them for truth. You can read more about this idea here.