So·mat·ic /səˈmadik/

Like the simultaneously forward and backwards facing eye in the series cover photo, the notion of keeping one eye on the positive aspects of the future, while reflecting on the past, and dealing with the present moments, posed some interesting introspection… and a somatic response.

This series is a visual diary of my responses to the pandemic and the news events of the year 2020. A shadow theme started to develop in my work that, at first, was unidentifiable and illusive. What name could be used summarize the gestalt of this series? This work was my visceral response to the uncertainty of the pandemic. So, I placed several finished pieces side-by-side and reflected on my guiding thoughts as I brought the art to fruition. It was at that moment that I saw that the work was inextricably related, and that this series must be called “Somatic”.

Why Somatic? Most people are familiar with the term psychosomatic, as it is more widely used to label unexplained illnesses that are a response to stress or a thought. On the other hand, a somatic response is something that has a physical effect on your body, like a feeling nausea when you are disgusted by witnessing a scene. My hands produced these pieces in response to family experiences, a copious amount of online reading, and watching all venues of American news.

This beautiful world, and its residents - Flora, Fauna, and Environment - like a body exhibiting symptoms of a viral infection, is showing signs of wear. Working with my hands to create figurative abstract imagery was a perfect way to cope during this dramatic time in history. Many of the compositions came to fruition in a very organic way through collagé, overlays of dissolved inks on homemade paper, décollage, and a transparent acrylic color scheme that was accented with oil pencils.

I am thankful for having had this time period to reflect through artistic expression. Foremost, I hope that you had found some of the hidden imagery and symbolic meaning in the pieces, and that maybe, a few of the pieces resonated with your own experience.