Childhood: 1995 | 2024 | mixed media collage | 17”x11” - View more information about this piece
“Come as you are” is a phrase that became a mantra, then a practice. As I’ve worked to welcome my own beingness, I extend that same compassion to you. Come tired, come anxious, come joyful or heavy-hearted. You’re welcome here.
In preparation for my international move (Nov 1st to Peru), I’m emptying my home and turning it into a one-night solo art exhibition. I’m giving away many of my art supplies, collected art, and personal treasures. Either for free or by donation. If something speaks to you, take it home.
Oct 4 | 5-8pm
At Deanna's home:
The Work
This collection spans from 2022-2025. This is a time when I started making my work just for me, as a means of healing. I was recovering from a traumatic time of "waking up" from the high-control religion I'd been raised in, Jehovah's Witnesses. I turned to many forms of expression to make sense of the continuous changes in myself and my world.
When I couldn’t define my feelings, I made music.
When I had too many, I poured them into words and drawings.
To open myself to joy, I played with the magic of light and holographics.
During dissociative periods, I clipped images.
When I felt present, I collaged them together.
In the past four years, a collection emerged as a record of my elation and grief, confusion and clarity, discoveries and fears. I made it for me, and now it’s time you see.
Special thanks to Grace McConnell for artwork photography.
Zine Special Reissue
Come Into Your Own
My carefully constructed worldview was a card tower of delusions, and when it collapsed I was left grasping for identity, a truer sense of reality, and managing the silence that followed cult-mandated family estrangement. This zine became my way of sorting through the chaos, and sharing it helps me to feel less alone in this experience. With raw drawings, handwriting, and digital processing, it captures the paradox of grief and liberation that comes with breaking free from a high-control group. I initially created 22 copies on my home printer, and am now reissuing a second run of 120 with a letterpress cover printed by The 961 Collective. Available for $20
While in many ways this has been a sudden decision, it's also something I'd been working towards for a long time. When I visited the Sacred Valley of the Andes in March, I saw how it could lead to a fuller life. I realized I had no reason not to go, and if I didn't honor this desire in myself, I'd regret it forever. So off I go! November 1st I head out.
Read more about my feelings about this move on my Substack.
Oct 4 | 5-8pm
At Deanna's home:
Enter through the front door on the first floor. There are four steps up.
Parking:
Street parking is available, but sometimes fills up. If you're brave enough to find a way to park in the empty grass lot next door, you're welcome to. No driveway parking.