My favorite art to create is abstract, often landscapes. When I create, I aim for my art to capture moments of awe I have experienced. I work in abstracts, as I want it capture the feeling. I try to represent those feelings as colors, form, and texture. In a cool parallel process, I often experience the feeling of awe when creating my art. For me, creating is more about the process than the outcome, but I love when the end result is also remarkable.

Having spent the past two decades as a practicing therapist, I’m very interested in emotions. Psychologist Dacher Keltner defines awe as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.” Awe creates a sense of your own smallness; it forces you to evaluate your worldview. Awe does something to us physically and releases those good chemicals in the brain emotionally. I find inspiration in all those moments of awe I have experienced.

If I were to win $25,000, I would use some of the money to purchase art supplies for under resourced children. I didn’t start creating until I was in my thirties and I wonder what would be for me if I had found this passion and healing outlet sooner. Additionally, since I currently create out of our dining room, I would use some of the money to build a home studio space dedicated to creating, more art supplies (there are never enough), and more works of art from emerging artists.