7×9 inches
Gouache on Paper
Maple frame, conservation glass

Sometimes I have a clear sense of my story before I begin, but sometimes it emerges along the way.

This idea began with a photograph of my daughter on our front porch. I started researching arches, porches, and transitional spaces. In medieval paintings, only holy figures are positioned under archways. 

I came across a relief of a Greco-Roman athlete leaning on a hoop, which reminded me of the pink hula hoops my kids had been playing with.

As I worked through the composition in gouache, the narrative started to emerge: the fragility of life, how tenuous safety can feel even in joyous times. It helped solidify the contrasts between the seriousness of history and the playfulness of childhood, the faded past and the vividness of contemporary times.