Creative Portfolio

Artist Statement

My visual work embraces impermanence in the natural world through close observation of shifting skies and flora and fauna in all stages of living and dying. This practice, known as deep looking, is a homage to Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay). He taught that by looking deeply, we develop insight into the Buddhist concept of impermanence.

“The practice and understanding of impermanence is not just another description of reality. It is a tool that helps us in our transformation, healing and emancipation. Impermanence means that everything changes and nothing remains the same in any consecutive moment. And although things change every moment, they still cannot be accurately described as the same or as different from what they were a moment ago. We are often sad and suffer a lot when things change, but change and impermanence have a positive side. Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible. Life itself is possible. If a grain of corn is not impermanent, it can never be transformed into a stalk of corn. If the stalk were not impermanent, it could never provide us with the ear of corn we eat... When we can see the miracle of impermanence, our sadness and suffering will pass.”

Both my moving and still images merge my creative practice with my meditation practice. By looking deeply at each leaf or blossom, by pausing to breathe with the wind, flow with the river, or and drift with the changing skies, I am acknowledging humanity’s interdependence with the natural world and the constant state of flux that is our dance with impermanence. We are living in such profoundly challenging and divisive times, at risk of losing our identities, our communities, and this planet that sustains us. Deep looking is a powerfully connective practice that helps me dwell in kinship with the world.