Community

We have so much of ourselves to give and so much time in this Life to do so. It has been my privilege to have partnered with charitable organizations to help serve our communities. The following pieces and projects were created to benefit these special groups, made with the individuals whom they serve in prayer, in mind and in heart.

Long Beach Chorale & Chamber Orchestra

It is my privilege to help establish Long Beach Chorale & Chamber Orchestra’s Artist-in-Residence Program by serving as their inaugural artist-in-residence for their 2022-2023 winter concert season, with extended partnership into the 2023-2024 season. The works below were made specifically for each concert, available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds going to support the creative work that goes into producing these concerts that bring together our communities.

LBCCO will be opened her doors to the public during rehearsals too! This is to offer an in-depth experience on how story and intentionality drive the musical arrangements and how the are sung. As a guest, you can drop in and flutter out of the rehearsals as you please! More details to come. Here is a snippet of one of the rehearsals I attended. Would you like to join me? Please reach out! We’d love to have you!

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May peace arise upon us, November 2023, Belle’s acrylic, graphite, and watercolor on paper. For the Long Beach Chorale & Chamber Orchestra’s A Holiday Garland concert at St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church.

During the season of giving, forgiving, grace, and togetherness—and also in this time when wars abound—this work was made in prayer for more peace in our households, our families, our communities, our own lands, and lands abroad.

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Shadows Cast upon Waters, June 2023, original paintings reimagined as moving, projected installation. For the Long Beach Chorale & Chamber Orchestra’s Oceans concert at Aquarium of the Pacific.

In 2019, I began a series of four oil paintings about the shadows cast upon waters. These were inspired by a flight from Seattle to Orange County, during which we flew over the Pacific. The skies were mostly sunny, but a few stray clouds hovered over the glistening blue waters. This sent me ruminating on the shadows cast upon the waters below me—these shadows that can sometimes help us to more clearly see what dwells underneath the water’s surface, uninhibited by the reflection of light. This was particularly interesting to me since light is often the thing that reveals what lurks in the darkness, but in this case, it’s the shadows that lead to revelation. I thought about how the shadows cast upon life also have a way of leading us into knowledge and wisdom…but only if we can stand steadily in the sweeping stream and be patient enough to garner what will be offered to us in due time.

After touching on the canvases with a first, second, and third pass, they rested in the corner of the studio, falling dormant for a season. Four years later, they resurfaced to help bringing a visual narrative to LBCCO’s Oceans concert, calling to be presented in a different form—the paintings and selected details were reintroduced in moving images that were projected onto the aquarium theater.

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Hope, Grace, Rebirth, Renewal, April 2023, acrylic, graphite, and rainwater gathered from Long Beach skies on paper, 9 ½ x 9 ½ “ each. For the Long Beach Chorale & Chamber Orchestra’s Music of Transcendence concert, featuring Fauré’s Requiem at Grace First Presbyterian Church.

The barn swallow makes her way into the landscape as the most abundant swallow species on earth. Although they migrate in large groups, this one sets herself apart as she seeks sanctuary. This is her great act of hope.

A feather is loosed as detritus fallen from an enduring flight. It is but grace that we are given this kind of perseverance. Having been sown by one and watered by the many, a pair of seeds burst with new life, standing confidently upright against one another. Light flickers over rains that renew earth, calling the impressionistic landscape into life.

This collection echoes the words of Artistic Director Matthew Martinez on Fauré Requiem:
Hopeful, rebirth, renewal. The concluding words of Fauré’s beloved music are: "May the choir of Angels greet you...and may you have eternal rest.” This piece is transcendent and comforting, one of the most beautiful pieces of choral music ever written. 

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Glory Be, December 2022, acrylic and oil on canvas, 30 x 48”. For the Long Beach Chorale & Chamber Orchestra’s Glory! concert, featuring Vivaldi’s Gloria! at Grace First Presbyterian Church.

As song sparrows can often be found building their nests in residential areas throughout Long Beach, this one hearkens unto her neighbors with her various calls, also representing the diverse voices within our communities. With the steady glow that lights her way, she perches steadily upon a branch of the eucalyptus, an evergreen tree that has the stamina to survive the harshness of winter, standing as a symbol of resilience, and hope for a verdant season ahead. In relation to Vivaldi's work, she sings her praises of joy and peace, giving all glory unto God.

This work is coupled with the words of Artistic Director Matthew Martinez on the Winter Concert season:
Transcendent, joyful, celebratory. “Glory to god in the highest, and on earth, peace to all.” These are the words of the Gloria, one of the oldest, most joyful texts in choral literature that is the core of Vivaldi’s popular holiday piece.

Heninger Village

Beginning in February 2016, I have been working with the senior residents of Heninger Village as part of my Community Engagement + Grand Central Art Center Residency Program. My project’s mission is to engage with the Heninger Village community through autobiographical art workshops in conjunction with oral histories to help the elders document the stories that they can pass on to their succeeding generations. I've been journaling about our experiences and the creative work we've been doing together, which you can learn more about here. 

Little Warriors (No.1, No.2, No. 3 and No.4), 2014, mixed media on paper, 11 x 14”
A series dedicated to the youth of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, to benefit the Warriors Community Foundation

This series is dedicated to our children, in faith and in hope that they may be embraced wholeheartedly by their communities, that they may thrive in this love, and that this love may stay alight within them. May we keep them in thought and in prayer as we cultivate a nurturing place for them to grow where their wings may sprout freely.

The City of Warriors, 2014, Oil on canvas, 60 x 72”
Dedicated to the warriors of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, to benefit the Warriors Community Foundation
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Nicole Lacob, Owner, Golden State Warriors

Keeping with the purpose of the show, I decided to create a new body of work, mindful of the warriors of our Bay Area. I thought of those of us who have shown great vigor and courage in our own battles, and despite these battles, have kept our commitment in caring for our youth, for our households, for our communities, and for humanity as a whole.

It is reassuring to know that those who are held in such high esteem, as our Golden State Warriors, are playing such important roles to strengthen the community, as they are in a great position to encourage the public to do the same, fostering the inspiration to make positive changes in our world. This piece is dedicated to all of us warriors, both on and off the court.

Our Very Own (1st Child - 11th Child), 2011, Acrylic, encaustic, oil, and joss paper on canvas 6 x 6"

A series dedicated our children, specifically those in Vietnam and Cambodia whose endurance has ignited this commitment to respond to their needs. All works sold from this collection benefited the Angkor Hosptial for Children in Siem Riep, Cambodia.