Louder than Words

Louder than Words

Mixed Media on Panel

65cm X 49cm

I had just finished the sketch of the girl at Burj El-Barajneh and still had her face on my mind. I decided to paint a portrait of her and surround her with news, facts and statistics, focussing on the general state of neglect that Palestinian refugees live in here. The painting is in itself a product of active citizenship: my own. I came here to learn about situations I’ve only been told about, and I’ve already learned so much. But the painting also takes up the theme by being very focussed. 

From my short experience volunteering at the camps, I realized that the refugees there were frequently talked about, all over the media, and in every day conversations around Lebanon. People say: “What a shame all the terrible things that happen to them,” shake their heads and go on with their lives. Others warn me about “them” or “there” even though who we are talking about aren’t abstract groups, but real, live people, like this little girl who rushed to give me hugs and kisses. That’s why I chose to focus on her, and the relationship we formed.

Girl at Burj El-Barajneh

I am volunteering at Palestinian Refugee Camps in Beirut, Lebanon. One camp, called Burj El-Barajneh, had this little girl who surprised me by running up and kissing me the moment i met her. She then kissed me twice when I left. So much love and affection in a place with so much pain. I decided to sketch her, and I hope to sketch more kids soon!

The Show Must Go On

The Show Must Go On

Mixed Media

1' X 2.25'

Defiant

Defiant

Oil Pastel

1.5' X 2'

Stairway To Heaven

Stairway To Heaven

Oil Pastel 

1.5' X 2'

This piece was made during the summer of 2014's conflict in Palestine.

I Don't Know You

I Don't Know You

7' X 3'

Oil on Panel

August 2014

This painting was based on a personal loss, and heartbreak. Because I lost the friendship of someone I had been close to for years, I decided to paint my feeling as a sort of therapy instead of dwelling on my confusion.

This painting has been displayed at the A/NT gallery on Westlake Ave. in Seattle for the month of October 2014 in my show called "Cruel Summer/Happy Fall".

The Miller's Daughter

Mixed Media

January 26, 2014

I have been recently working on the idea that many of our old fairy tales have great parables about the plight of humankind. Very often I read stories of a woman who is placed in an impossible and oppressive position and felt that it was representative of women issues contemporarily and in history. This first painting using this idea representing the miller's daughter in Rumpelstiltskin.

It is mixed media using oil paints, gold pen on black gesso, lights, and melted plastic beads. It was first show cased at the FinneyWood Art walk on Valentine's Day, 2014.