"It Is What It Is - Isolation, Introspection, and Divorce"

It Is What It Is - Isolation, Introspection, and Divorce

July 2020
Original 9”x12” mixed media collage on bristol board, professionally matted and framed

2020 was both a physically and mentally challenging year that had me questioning everything about who I am and what I wanted out of life. The year began with me questioning my VA healthcare and medications and then ended with exposing revelations about my caregiver and marriage. So, throughout quarantine and beyond, 2020 was a time of extremely tough realizations, turmoil and upheaval, but also a time of personal revaluation, healing, and growth. I found out, the hard way, that I am perfect the way I am and who I am, through the love and support of my immediate and extended family and friends who stood by me during the awful times and showed me that selfless love does truly exist and that I am worthy of it. Created from the pages of the vintage coffee table book, “The World of Beretta - An International Legend” by R. L. Wilson, Random House New York, 2000, this intimate self-portrait belies how I survived quarantine and the initial months of my separation leading up to my divorce - through art - slowly, purposefully, filled with military bearing (hence the reference to my firearms training) and, yes, one day at a time.