I chose to create a portrait that reflects my mood and emotions of the past year. As an educator, wife, homemaker, and now caregiver, my life has been become evermore complex. Due to unforseen circumstances, I struggle to maintain household stability and sanity, scurrying to keep body and soul together by juggling daily issues while dealing with the devastating illness which has afflicted my better half and affected both of our lives. In a struggle to hold on to the last bits of happiness and maintain stability while seeing an individual spiral downwards into the depths of a devastating illness which has gripped the mind irremediably and cannot be reversed, I turn to art, my refuge and salvation, for solace .

The image was created from a digital photograph layered in Studio Artist and Photoshop for various effects. It depicts how I feel: fragmented, while battling to form a cohesive entity from the various puzzle-like pieces.