Ode to My Mother

Ode to My Mother is about the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters—the love, the pain, and everything we inherit without asking for it.

Working with fabric and thread, I take apart old paintings that no longer feel right and stitch them into something new. It's a way of making sense of what came before, of taking the pieces that hurt and the pieces that hold us together and finding a way forward with both.

This series is my attempt to understand what my mother gave me—the burdens and the love, the things I wish I could change, and the things I'm grateful for. It's about how we're shaped by forces beyond our control, and how we learn to carry what's been handed down to us. These pieces are messy and tender, just like family.

"Ode to My Mother No. 15" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 36 W x 48 H x 1.5 D in. In No. 15 the impact of the generations begins to show its scale, which amplifies the feeling of intense emotional entanglement and the unavoidable "rock

"Ode to My Mother No. 15" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 36 W x 48 H x 1.5 D in. In No. 15 the impact of the generations begins to show its scale, which amplifies the feeling of intense emotional entanglement and the unavoidable "rockiness" of being "sticked together." The vast, quilted surface, made up of my old, deconstructed paintings, is a powerful visual statement: it shows how the entire complex history of my family is now a large, textural landscape that I inhabit. It communicates the sheer force of those foundational environments, which are not just external memories, but deep, tenacious forces that accompany me as I chart my full life path.

"Ode to My Mother No. 14" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). In No. 14, I've created another square framed contemplation on the emotional entanglements that define my family life. The constant "rockiness" th

"Ode to My Mother No. 14" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). In No. 14, I've created another square framed contemplation on the emotional entanglements that define my family life. The constant "rockiness" that comes from being irrevocably "sticked together" by birth is what I'm grappling with here. My signature process of cutting up and quilting deconstructed paintings is an essential part of the work, symbolizing the way my past efforts and inherited history are never truly thrown away, but reformed into the present. This piece reflects my awareness that the environments I couldn't choose as a child are now permanent, adhering parts of me, and it’s a visual acknowledgement of the layers I must navigate on my personal path.

"Ode to My Mother No. 13" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). Here, I feel the weight of those emotional legacies, exploring the "rockiness" that’s a natural result of being "sticked together" by birth. The a

"Ode to My Mother No. 13" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). Here, I feel the weight of those emotional legacies, exploring the "rockiness" that’s a natural result of being "sticked together" by birth. The act of quilting deconstructed canvases symbolizes my attempt to process how the specific environments and emotional landscapes of my past—the things I had no control over—are now a permanent, adhering part of me. This small, framed work is a sustained meditation on accepting that inherited space and the continuous, complex effort it takes to separate the personal self from the familial history.

"Ode to My Mother No. 12" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). This piece is about confronting the hard truth of inherited life: that we are "sticked together" by fate. Through the rigorous process of quilting

"Ode to My Mother No. 12" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). This piece is about confronting the hard truth of inherited life: that we are "sticked together" by fate. Through the rigorous process of quilting my acrylic paintings, I’m working to visualize the layered, often difficult, emotional reality—the "rockiness"—of these deep connections. It forces me to consider that the environments I was born into, the ones I couldn't choose, are now the unshakeable context for my adult life. This work is about integrating that history and forging a singular path despite the depth of the entanglement.

"Ode to My Mother No. 9" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas, 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). I created this work to contemplate the enduring "rockiness" in the family of birth, that persistent, unavoidable sticking. My process of deconstr

"Ode to My Mother No. 9" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas, 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). I created this work to contemplate the enduring "rockiness" in the family of birth, that persistent, unavoidable sticking. My process of deconstructing old pieces and sewing and quilting them is a literal symbol of taking that emotional history—the things outside my control—and permanently stitching it into who I am today.

"Ode to My Mother No. 8" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas; 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). Here, I wrestle with the heavy truth of inherited life: we are "sticked together," and that connection brings friction. The quilting of my decons

"Ode to My Mother No. 8" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas; 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). Here, I wrestle with the heavy truth of inherited life: we are "sticked together," and that connection brings friction. The quilting of my deconstructed acrylic paintings helps me visualize the layered, often difficult, reality of these ties. This work is about integrating the history and environments I was born into and forging my own path despite that deep entanglement.

"Ode to My Mother No. 7" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas, 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). This piece is a focused look at how deep familial relationships create intense emotional entanglements. It confronts the friction, or "rockiness,

"Ode to My Mother No. 7" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas, 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). This piece is a focused look at how deep familial relationships create intense emotional entanglements. It confronts the friction, or "rockiness," that’s unavoidable when we're "stuck together" by fate. By quilting fragments of my deconstructed past canvases, I visualize how my earliest environments, beyond my control, become permanent, adhering layers that shape my path.

"Ode to My Mother No. 6" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas; 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). I continue to explore the "rockiness" that comes from being "stuck together" in the family you’re born into. The external environments I entered

"Ode to My Mother No. 6" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on canvas; 20 W x 20 H x 2 ¼ D in (framed). I continue to explore the "rockiness" that comes from being "stuck together" in the family you’re born into. The external environments I entered without choosing become permanent parts of my life path. I use my process of quilting together deconstructed old paintings to stitch this inherited history into something new and whole physically.

"Ode to My Mother No. 11" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas; 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). I continue my investigation into the deep emotional entanglements that characterize family. The quilted surface, made from the remnants of my olde

"Ode to My Mother No. 11" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas; 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in (framed). I continue my investigation into the deep emotional entanglements that characterize family. The quilted surface, made from the remnants of my older canvases, becomes a rich, tactile map of the friction, or "rockiness," that exists because we are born into a situation where we are "sticked together." I see the texture here as a representation of how the formative environments from childhood cling to us, leaving indelible, permanent marks that I must acknowledge and work with on my journey toward a self-determined life.

"Ode to My Mother No. 10" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas; framed and ready to hang, Size (Framed): 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in. With this square-framed work, I’m intensely focused on the enduring friction within the family-of-birth—that unavo

"Ode to My Mother No. 10" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas; framed and ready to hang, Size (Framed): 11 W x 11 H x 2 D in. With this square-framed work, I’m intensely focused on the enduring friction within the family-of-birth—that unavoidable, persistent "rockiness." The entire process of sewing and quilting deconstructed past works is my way of symbolizing that inescapable, lifelong "sticking together." It's a quiet contemplation on the fact that those early, foundational environments, often far outside my control, are now permanent parts of my psychological and emotional material, which I must integrate as I choose my path forward.

"Ode to My Mother No. 5" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas; framed using hemp wood and museum-quality acrylic glass, 13 x 24 x 2 in. This piece, sharply framed in hemp wood, directly addresses the inherent "rockiness" that comes with bein

"Ode to My Mother No. 5" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas; framed using hemp wood and museum-quality acrylic glass, 13 x 24 x 2 in. This piece, sharply framed in hemp wood, directly addresses the inherent "rockiness" that comes with being born into a family and forced to stick together. At 13 x 24 inches, it gives me a little more room to explore the surface tension that develops between people who are irrevocably linked. I’ve used my quilting technique to physically demonstrate how the external environments of our upbringing—the things entirely outside our control as children—don’t just influence us; they become a sticky, adhering layer that we carry with us as we navigate our personal paths.

"Ode to My Mother No. 4" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 10 x 10 x 1 in. In this piece, I continue to press into the enduring complexity of my familial ties, using the square to contain this intense emotional field. As with the others,

"Ode to My Mother No. 4" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 10 x 10 x 1 in. In this piece, I continue to press into the enduring complexity of my familial ties, using the square to contain this intense emotional field. As with the others, I've taken fragments of my old work—paintings that were finished but no longer served a purpose—and quilted them into this piece. For me, the act of sewing them together is crucial; it symbolizes that the emotional history of a family isn't something you discard, but something you cut up, re-form, and permanently stitch into the foundation of who you are today. It’s an embrace of the tangle.

"Ode to My Mother No. 3" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 10 W x 10 H. This work is a concentrated burst of what the series is about: the sheer emotional entanglement of family. I’m physically stitching my history together here, incorpo

"Ode to My Mother No. 3" | Acrylic painting sewn and quilted on Canvas, 10 W x 10 H. This work is a concentrated burst of what the series is about: the sheer emotional entanglement of family. I’m physically stitching my history together here, incorporating pieces of deconstructed, older paintings into the canvas. It's a very literal act of making the past the foundation for the present. The dense layering and quilting on this piece are my way of mapping the forces that bind and, at times, chafe in the mother-daughter dynamic. In this compact space, the abstract forms become a tactile realization that every subsequent layer of my life is woven from this initial material.

"Ode to My Mother - Persephone" is where everything started for me. At 18 x 36 x 1.5 inches, this mixed media piece holds the weight of Persephone's story—a daughter caught between her mother Demeter's overwhelming love and the dark, necessary freedo

"Ode to My Mother - Persephone" is where everything started for me. At 18 x 36 x 1.5 inches, this mixed media piece holds the weight of Persephone's story—a daughter caught between her mother Demeter's overwhelming love and the dark, necessary freedom she finds in the underworld. That myth has always felt personal to me. It's about the moment you realize you need to claim your own life, even when it means breaking away from the person who gave it to you. I made this piece by sewing and quilting—something my mother taught me. I cut up old paintings I'd made before, stitching them back together into something new. There's something that feels true about that: you can't separate yourself from where you came from. The hard work of becoming yourself means taking what you've inherited—the good and the painful—and making it your own. This piece is about that beginning, that first difficult step of pulling apart the threads to see what's really yours.