The works in my most recent series focus on my journey as a mother and the attendant
periods of elation and uncertainty that accompany watching my daughter grow up. Will
she grow up to be like me? Is that good or bad? Am I fostering her independence? Am I
guiding her down the right path? These are just a few of the questions that I ask myself
regularly—as I’m sure all parents do—and try to work out in my paintings. In this series,
she is often seen interacting with a crow or crow feathers, which are a symbolic
representation of me and my influence on her emotional and social development. As is
characteristic of crows, she is the “shiny thing” that captivates me. She is also usually
pictured with a plastic egg either in her hair or placed near her. The egg, in my mind, is
simultaneously symbolic of both the legacy that her life will be built from and the
potential she has to make a difference in the world. These are concepts that are not
truly visible—as though they are hidden within the egg but have the ability to really
transform the trajectory of her life.