My favorite art to create begins with curiosity, presence and investigating what's unspoken, bringing it to the surface for examination. I love photography that's tactile, layered and altered. I use large format film cameras, Polaroid, alternative darkroom printing techniques and mixed media to get to the root of the soul of the story. It's been important for me to listen with my entire being to what needs to be created and respond.

I find inspiration inside the human condition. The most personal investigations lead to the most universal truths. Love, loss, longing, the need for belonging and finding home in a person, a place, a community. As a woman in long term recovery and mother to Max, who has Down syndrome, I've lived on both sides of society's false divide around human value. I've struggled with my own. All of it inspires me to make the invisible visible and close the gap of separation.

When Max was just days old, a geneticist told me, “You know there’s a pill you could have taken for that.” That moment changed everything. "Slow Down" is a decade-long photography project confronting ableism through the lived experience of raising my son with Down syndrome. It invites viewers to look past stereotypes and recognize the dignity and strength in each person. $25,000 would fund large format film, printing, framing, and outreach to galleries, schools, and institutions.