I found this frame discarded in a free pile, outside a thrift store in Perham, MN collecting dust and cobwebs. Usually I just discard the old advertisement graphics inside but this one was handmade as a gift for someone special in their life. The poem and thought of someone picking this and putting together this handmade gift warmed my heart so much. So instead I decided to make a piece in remembrance of this kind gesture between two people I’ll never know, hopefully warming the hearts of others who know its origins.

Alaska cotton is a simple plant.
It grows by the road or off just a scant.
It’s soft and delicate, not a scent will you smell,
But glorious to watch when the wind blows well!
There are many beautiful sites in this vast land to view…
This is only one which was was picked for you.

— Author unknown, (VWF) 1983

• art 5x7”; frame 6.25 x 8.25”

• gouache + oil based paint marker on board

• UV protective varnish

• includes original cotton + backing

• frame has minor scratches as I’m sure it’s seen many hands and hung on many walls in its 37 years

I’m attempting to create beauty from the little I have, a reflection of how I felt after experiencing a series of traumas and financial crises, and consequent food and housing insecurity.

Everything in my life felt like chaos so I desired simplicity and symmetry, centeredness and peace. I wanted to make but couldn’t afford supplies, so I looked around at what I had: three small tubes of paint and some scrap board bound for the trash.

Although the designs are mechanical in composition and form, these humble materials and the textures within them heavily inform my direction and commitment to capturing and maintaining the human vulnerability I felt when I first began.