Coming Home: A Journey Through Six Perspectives
- Feb 11
- 4 min read
This series presents one tree viewed from six different angles across six panels that together span 20 feet. Beneath the painted branches of each perspective lies a collage narrative exploring a different facet of the transformation I've experienced this past year. Same tree, six vantage points, one story of coming home to who God made me to be.
If you've been following my work for the last two years, you know this project has been brewing for a while. It started with an offhand comment from an art dealer about needing something to fill a 20' x 10' space. That sounded like an interesting problem I'd never tackled before. As is typical for me as a collage artist, I gathered solutions I'd seen through various channels and rearranged them into something new.
The concept evolved into a tree piece spanning multiple panels, with separate but connected collage narratives underneath each viewpoint. I initially thought this would explore generalized stories of growth, but it became deeply personal—taking a full year to develop because it needed to tell the story of my own transformation.
Why Trees, Why Share
Trees embody internal growth perfectly. They grow so slowly we barely notice. Death is part of their process—letting go so new things can emerge. They balance development with their environment, and their growth naturally supports neighboring life.
Internal transformation as a human being is difficult to express, but I've found that without finding ways to share it—directly or indirectly—we struggle to feel truly seen and known. At least, that's been my experience. Putting my inner journey into these paintings has helped me acknowledge it, given it a place to exist in the physical world, and offered me courage to continue.
For this series, I created collage backgrounds that each explore a different area of transformation—all distinct narratives, yet part of the larger story I live out every day. Each collage is highly symbolic and multi-dimensional. I encourage you to let curiosity guide you as you engage with the work. Meander rather than summarize. The observation of these pieces mirrors the slow process of a tree's development. You can find the collage backgrounds of all the pieces here.
Doubt and Insecurity to Beloved Belonging
This is the anchor. Every bit of transformation in my life this past year has been rooted here—in identity, in believing in my beloved-ness, in trusting what God says about me and over me.
Without this foundation settled, any other change would be like taking a clipped flower and plopping it in dirt, expecting it to thrive. It won't. It lacks the roots needed for consistent nourishment and stability.
In the collage for this panel, the primary subject is a fierce, sturdy-looking woman. She is firm and decided. That's exactly how I wanted to envision myself this year—not cowering, not unsure, but fully confident. Not in my performance, circumstances, possessions, or status. Not even confident in my art. No—fully confident in the Giver of my identity as Beloved and known. If this is unshakable, then so am I.
The little girl embedded in the center of the female warrior represents the insistent question our child selves ask: Am I loved? Do you see me? Am I enough? She is surrounded and secured by a resounding affirmative answer. Yes.
The Language of Symbols
Throughout this series, certain elements repeat across panels, each carrying multiple layers of meaning:
The lantern serves as a symbol of illumination in this piece—a light held steady in darkness. In other panels, it represents embodied spirit within human vessels, or God's word and presence.
Concentric circles express ideas around spirit, breath, and expansion. The image comes from an old medical text illustrating respiration. It also evokes water ripples and expanding circles of energy. This idea of "spirit" became crucial to me this year as I studied Genesis in Hebrew. "Ruach"—the Hebrew word for spirit—also means breath, wind, and power. God's "Ruach" animated all life according to these ancient texts, and I love expressing that same animating force in my own inner transformation. It's not something I can will into existence. Believe me, I've tried. I have to partner with God's "Ruach".
Small spheres throughout the series are reminiscent of both halos of light and seeds—in both instances, small concentrations of life filled with potential.
String emphasizes form and figure in the finished work while reminding me of the fragility and interconnected nature of human experience. We are but a vapor in this life.
Ladders appear in this piece (this one is really subtle and made of Scripture pages at the top of the panel) and others, recalling both garden lattice and work ladders. Ladders represent connection—horizontal or vertical—and require active participation. They speak to my ongoing movement toward God and toward deeper relationship with others.
In various ways, all these collage materials speak to my ongoing transformation from doubt to belief in my beloved-ness.
In the next article, I'll continue exploring the narratives of the "Coming Home" series. If you want to see all the pieces that are part of this series, you can click here. I hope this encourages you to consider your own beloved-ness as the starting point for whatever transformation you yearn for in yourself.
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