From early childhood I experienced chronic pain from my fibromyalgia among a plethora of other health issues related to this, however, it was overlooked. These plants are meant to represent how all pieces of an experience are still apart of the whole, seen or unseen. The resilient flora and fauna that the ceramic stackable objects are mimicking each have their own functionality on their own and act as the plant when stacked together. All the plants are known for their various strengths in adverse environments, surviving off of very little in the wild, and being able to adapt in their own  unique ways. Much like these plants, when you are neglected as a child you find alternative ways to survive in the given environment.

This work embodies how we all wear masks in our lives to some degree.  At a job interview, a public event, sometimes in the mirror to get yourself up in the morning. It’s happening all around us all the while actively making us participate. In my case, my mask is most present when I am trying to not alert others to my pain, Pieces of a Whole attacks the idea of resilience in presenting something beautiful in spite of what is happening underneath.

My inspiration draws from Eddie Dominguez and his stacked paintings that all have functional use while still coming together to a complete composition. Molly Hatch and her multiples of plates, although displayed on walls have a similar narrative effect that is lost when not assembled entirely. The plants I choose are distinct inclusions of self in the midst of the flora and fauna that speak to flexibility and surviving hardship. The inspiration for greenery are from various places I have visited as well as lived. These plants have the ability to adapt and endure harsh environments similar to a person who does not fit into each person’s intricate box of what disability looks like. Pieces of a Whole speaks to this masking aspect that people really have no idea what’s under the surface, the inevitable function that is forced on someone with a disability no one can see, and all these experiences being fragments of the full story. Each person’s story is more than we are able to see, it is important to remain mindful of our fellow people out in the world that have more than their cover reveals to the naked eye.