Anxious I: I’m Fine
12" x 12"
Acrylic and Gold Leaf on Canvas
Cake: The Mental Health Series
Completed February, 2023
Part of the Cake series, Anxious I: I’m Fine is a meditation on anxiety.
It is an interesting thing, what people see when they see this piece. Some saw something cosmic, a black hole, stars being born in big bangs. Others saw anguish and foreboding.
I played with fluidity, color, sheen and texture for this piece, to capture the sense of chaos, fear and shame around anxiety. This piece is about the desire to present as whole, perfect, reliable and to hide our cracks and fears.
Anxious II: Fine
12" x 12"
Acrylic and Gold Leaf on Canvas
Cake: The Mental Health Series
Completed February, 2023
Part of the Cake series, Anxious II: Fine is a meditation on anxiety.
It is an interesting thing, what people see when they see this piece. Some saw something cosmic, a black hole collapsing, a galaxy expanding. Others saw anguish and foreboding.
This piece is about the well-meaning advice and quick fixes offered when someone shares their anxiety. I played with fluidity and texture to capture the closing down and implosion around anxiety. This piece is about the pressure to present as serene and reliable, suppressing our cracks and fears.
Anxious III: Just Fine
6" x 6"
Acrylic and Gold Leaf on Canvas
Cake: The Mental Health Series
Completed February, 2023
Part of the Cake series, Anxious III: Just Fine is a meditation on anxiety.
This piece is about that first moment when something triggers your anxiety. A small thing, a little seed, that you know will grow and take over your mind. I played with fluidity, color, sheen and texture to capture how one anxiety feeds on another until all those little floating specks of floating anxiety seem to multiply. This piece is about the pressure to minimize and compartmentalize when it seems like you are anxiety personified, and not a creature experiencing the emotion of anxiety.
It is an interesting thing, what people see when they see this piece. Some saw something cosmic, a big bang birthing a universe. Others saw wounds and foreboding gunshots.