I created this piece for the show "Underground." I chose to portray a woman/seedling, rooted deeply underground reaching up toward the surface in order to embrace the sun. The idea came to me after doing some gardening with my daughter, and imagining together that each plant we embedded into the dirt was a spirit...

For me, the idea turned into something quite symbolic... Between my grandmother being re-diagnosed with lung cancer after a hopeful remission, being told just yesterday that a dear friend has been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, not to mention all of the other crazy nonsense going on all over our planet, I've been feeling the need to do a piece portraying the journey from our rooted darkness into the light, which in itself can hold many meanings, whether it is the process of dying or simply moving from sadness to a brighter perspective and healing. I'm not someone who watches the news and I certainly don't tend to dwell on half empty glasses, but we all have moments when things appear to be crumbling and we must gently remind ourselves that the great mystery is in charge, and that we are so lucky to have what we have in this moment. I wanted to do a piece that taps us on the shoulder and reminds us that no matter how dirty and messy things get, we can still dig for the light... and we will emerge with a greater respect for the sun.

This piece was pyrographed on oak and then painted with acrylics. I topped it off with a protective coat of varnish and wired it for hanging.