Sticks & Stones
Sticks and Stones Sculpture
close up of my rocks
When I’m not exploring illustration and surface design, I’m finding other ways to express myself. I find that art is more meaningful and relatable when it comes from a personal place.
The saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is meant to be about resilience, about not letting words harm you. But in reality, words, thoughts, and self-perceptions DO have power. For me, the sticks and stones have been internal.
I’ve been throwing them at myself in the form of:
Self-doubt – Questioning if I’m enough, if I matter, if I make a difference in people’s lives. My purpose.
Overthinking – Replaying moments, trying to solve what isn’t mine to fix, searching for certainty instead of trusting the unknown, or myself.
Holding onto pain – Instead of letting go, I’ve turned past hurts over and over in my mind, letting them shape my self-perception. (The repetitive loops, the colorful lines around each hole or crater in the rocks mirror this process.)
Trying to control outcomes – Wanting closure, neat endings, explanations, because uncertainty feels like a stone I don’t know how to put down. They’re heavy. But what if I create my own closure? And what if I can make it art? And share it?
The repeated line work follows a path with intention, but the outcome only reveals itself when there’s no more space left to cover. The lines are a visual for my journey of rewiring some of my deepest core hurts, and allowing things to unfold.
I’ve been seeking to turn my experiences into art, uncertainty into exploration, and reflection into growth.
And maybe it’s not about stopping the self-inflicted sticks and stones altogether, that’s impossible. Maybe it’s about realizing I (we) have the power to catch them, soften them, and shape them into something new. And, wherever bones break, they heal stronger.
We all have our own struggles, yet, they’re often rooted in the same internal stories we tell ourselves.
