I create picture stories that are framed within the make believe. However, the roots of these stories I tell are personal, relating to my own experiences growing up. They are my way of reflecting on and working out many of the social challenges I faced as a child. I know first hand how it feels to be treated as a social outcast and bullied by others. I create my stories as a way to address and resolve my own negative experiences of growing up. The characters within these narratives become my tools for self-reconstruction. They are my way of coming to terms with my own painful experiences. But I also create them for anyone else who is suffering the same sort of hurt.

It is important to me to create stories that appeal to both children and adults because topics such as rejection and isolation are common challenges that everyone face. When I was growing up I had no one who was willing to talk about such intimate feelings. Shame and vulnerability forces a person into isolation, and that is why it is so important to me to tell stories. But it is equally as important that these stories are less about offering wisdom and more about working through a process of reconciliation and painful growth. My hope is that my readers will connect with these feelings and perhaps come to terms with the pain in their lives.

My story featured in this exhibition, The Little Pumpkin Hen is inspired by the Grimm Brother’s tale, The Death of the Little Hen. It is a story about selfishness where characters continually meet their death because of their refusal to help those around them. I gravitate towards this story because it is a representative example of how people expect a lot more out of relationships than what they put in. My version of the Grimm’s tale focuses on misdirected aggression towards people due to prior failures in social interaction. The story is about the little hen coming to terms with vulnerability (weakness), but then ultimately allowing herself to get the help she needs and be secure enough to allow others to help her (strength).

Despite the weightiness of my underlying subject matter, my stories are simple enough for kids to enjoy. I leave it to the experienced readers to dissect the layers of meaning behind my images. I choose a simplistic and whimsical art style because it is less intimidating. I use dark colors to achieve a solemn mood while using light colors to focus the eye. Typically, I use lighter colors to spotlight the character’s expressions.  I have used watercolor for softer images for younger audiences and digital to gain a bolder graphic look for kids who like comic books more. This way my stories can connect to kids and adults and the subject matter within is easier to digest.