It started with a doodle. So much of my art does. I was just sitting around working on a crossword when I got a phone call. The pencil was already in my hand, and there was space at the bottom of the puzzle. A circle, then another. An eye. These are things that show up over and over again in my work. As does the venus symbol (a circle with a cross underneath). Look again and you might see how the scraps of paper complete this shape under the circles and eyes. It happens over and over again, often without me even realizing I am doing it, until the finished piece shows itself and oops, there they are again!

There are whole fields of study dedicated to symbolism that will tell us what each of these images might represent. I prefer to make my own meanings, which may, or may not, overlap with others’ interpretations. The doodles are coming from my head, my hand. I like to pay attention to them, because there is often good information there. 

An eye to me is not just seeing, but being open to seeing differently. Finding the courage to place my thoughts somewhere I can get a better look. Questioning. It’s what I think it means to be an artist. If you enjoy self discovery, or meaning making, you too may be an artist, whether or not you have ever thought of yourself that way. 

The circle, to me, is belonging, safety, equality. The act of “sitting in circle” and the tiny miracles that occur when we hear one anothers’ stories. Circles overlapping, bigger circles containing smaller circles. Circles with no beginning, and no end.

The venus symbol, love and sisterhood. The shared experience of being a woman. 

But hey, it’s just a doodle.