Hi there, everyone!

I hope all has been well and that you’ve been safe and healthy!

Lately I’ve been so occupied with a number of things in my personal life, that I’ve not had the chance to share with you some of the projects I’ve been up to. As I’m in a bit of a “cool down” period right now, I can finally have this chance!

I’m delighted to share with you all that my newest work, Zwischen den Butterblumenfeilen, is a contributing piece for the Dark to Light exhibition that will be on display in the Art Depot’s Spotlight Gallery from August 8th – September 19th in Abingdon, Virginia.

Benefiting the Ashleigh Langbein Project Foundation, the exhibition showcases the artworks of 21 artists across the US in response to Ashleigh Langbein’s poignant literature. For the show, I’ve selected this particular writing as I found myself immediately connected to it…

“Death and Grief”

“Dense Macabre
Round-a-bout of skeletal fractions,
Bones picked for sport.
A festival of frantic actions,
of the ephemeral type of sort.
A shot taken- gone through the ribs,
Albeit alcohol or a bullet, who knows?
A feeble old man comes,
and they call dibs,
There massive numbers only grow.
A prayer is made where one of them rests,
The 1st prayer to him ever spoken.
A mist appeared inside his chest,
so he vanished now, unbroken.
For years now, unbroken.
For years now they’ve all been waiting,
as the people they love grow older.
They keep each other company-craving.
For a name whispered on a sepulcher.”

– Ashleigh Langbein
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The passing of my father was one of the most monumental experiences that shaped me into the artist I am today. Watching both of his cancer and alcoholism strip him of strength, awareness and mobility had all been instrumental in my understanding of what death and greif entail.

Naturally, the relatable sense of anguish, as transcribed so vividly in this poem, is what prompted me to demonstrate my connection. The subject of my work touches upon the complexities of loss and sorrow in addition to paying homage to all of those who’ve battled, and or continue to, suffer from cancer and alcoholism.

Those of you who are in the VA area, I hope you all have the opportunity to view the outstanding artworks in response to the lovely poetry of Ashleigh Langbein. A huge thank you to Rayne Singree and Paula for putting together such a remarkable exhibition. To view the gallery’s website, please follow the link here: http://www.abingdonartsdepot.org

Below is a beautiful description that was written for the ALP open call:

“The Ashleigh Langbein Project was founded in 2017 by Paula and Russell Langbein in honor of their daughter to continue her legacy through acts of love and support. The ALP works to fund scholarships for students in Psychology and Theater at the post-secondary level through endowments established at Emory and Henry College, Ashleigh’s Alma Mater. With this exhibition, the foundation hopes to connect to Ashleigh’s words and story to a wider audience by asking artists to create a piece in response to a selection of her poetry. A prolific writer, Ashleigh’s poems talk about her struggles and victories, the light and dark. Thus, the title of the show: Dark to Light, inviting us to do what Ashleigh did for so many people she met- turn the darkness in this world into light.”