An ArtPrize Artist: How It All Started

ArtPrize ushered my 2010 paintings onto a large stage—with thousands visiting my Woman in Red collection that was created in partnership with the American Heart Association and featured at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Through ArtPrize over the following years, my work began transitioning beyond watercolor paintings to interactive healing installations that focused on soul…

A Paint Brush That Speaks

My definition of being a human who cares about her world began to change in 2011, when I collided with Josephine and other Congolese refugees living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the time, my knowledge of Congo didn’t extend beyond a country located on the map. For the next year, I began to research Congo’s…

Josephine’s Courage

Told in Josephine’s own words “My husband and I heard a man knock on the door. The door was largely open. Soldiers were emerging inside the house; we made a loud noise and asked rescue to anyone who could hear us. “I started to cry, and my husband cried too. I could not imagine that…

Faith 2018

Viewer Responses Amazing process in how you work the face. The mouth being the last part of the painting. Women who had been seemingly silenced by horrific circumstances—reawakened with the restoration of their voice through accompaniment of listening hearts and ears that gift compassion and hope. Maura I see the past pain in her eyes…

A New Test of Courage

After posting Sabina’s story and image a few months ago, my friend Laurie asked me to paint another Congolese work. But Laurie’s request posed two challenges for me. The first challenge was to paint a watercolor painting. Four years ago, I had tucked away my watercolor paints—partly in frustration with my watercolor work at the…