"I truly had no idea what to expect going into the Jaunt Winter Camp experience. I was prepared for anything, and was excited about the possibility of new connections in a new place. I was most looking forward to the opportunity to spend time with other painters who are navigating a similar world scape and for the opportunity to ground the art world in some more meaningful connections.

I am truly amazed by the women present at the Winter Camp and the way they build their art and their worlds. We would wake up in the morning and start talking and not stop talking until we went to bed. I learned so much from them and left feeling energized and inspired. I loved learning from their experiences and the way they see their work and their careers and their communities. I was impressed with how natural it all felt and how kind and collaborative the experience was throughout. We ate incredible food that we cooked together, and I think the experience of learning and working together in the kitchen was one of my favorite experiences. I also loved being out in nature with everyone. It was like I was living the world of my paintings in real time!

I wanted to portray the connections built during the Jaunt trip, and the way that our experiences in nature helped deepen our relationships to one another, the natural world, and the experience as a whole. I was also really moved by our experience making homemade pasta together, and the movement of our hands kneading dough and running the sheets of pasta through the machine. I was especially touched by how at some point, the entire process went more smoothly if additional hands helped support the length of the noodles when they got too long for one person to manage. That helped me find my way to my artwork of the five hands, establishing pathways and connections though the nature of the Pacific Northwest."