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Built in Layers: Why Process Matters as Much as the Image
Every piece in Held Between Light is built in layers, not just physically, but intentionally. I start with a grounded base. Often walnut or painted plywood. This layer carries weight. It anchors the piece visually and emotionally. It’s the part that stays steady, no matter what happens above it. The second layer is softer. Basswood,
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What Immigrating Taught Me About Starting Over
I was eighteen when I left everything familiar behind. Not in the dramatic, movie-scene way where you’re brave and glowing and certain. It was quieter than that. Heavier. I carried what I could hold, documents, a few clothes, the weight of decisions that couldn’t be undone, and stepped into a country that didn’t know me,
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Inside the Grimm Collection: Five Symbols and What They Represent
The Grimm Collection doesn’t begin with designs.It begins with symbols. Symbols are older than language. They carry meaning across cultures, eras, and personal histories. They don’t explain themselves, and that’s what makes them powerful. Each piece in the Grimm Collection centers on a symbol that continues to show up in human storytelling, ritual, and transformation.
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Held Between Light: Why I’m Drawn to the Space Between
There’s a moment in the woods that doesn’t last long. It’s not quite daylight, and it’s not yet dusk. The air feels alert. Sounds soften. Everything seems to pause, not frozen, not empty, just aware. If you’re rushing, you miss it entirely. That space is where Held Between Light began. This collection isn’t about wildlife
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Nature Is Healing (Even When You Don’t Have Words)
There are moments when language fails. Not in the poetic, romantic way people like to post about, but in the real way. The kind where everything feels tangled, heavy, and too sharp to touch. The kind where explaining would require more energy than you have left. The kind where even answering “How are you?” feels
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The Grimm Collection: Where Finished Art Meets Forgotten Story
There are some collections that exist to decorate a space. And then some collections exist because they had to. The Grimm Collection belongs firmly in the second category. This series wasn’t created to follow a trend, fill a seasonal gap, or match a color palette. It grew slowly, piece by piece, from symbols that kept
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The Trail Held Me Together When Everything Else Was Falling Apart
I don’t remember the exact date. I remember the temperature. Cool enough that my breath showed, warm enough that the forest still smelled alive. The trail was quiet, no voices, no dogs, no rush. Just dirt under my boots and the steady rhythm of my breath, trying to find its way back to normal. At
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How pyrography found me
I didn’t discover pyrography in a neat, cinematic moment. There was no angelic choir. No aha! spotlight. It showed up quietly. Like most things that end up saving you. At the time, my life was already full, too full, if I’m honest. Full of responsibility. Full of worry. Full of trying to hold everything together