About The Repetition Collection

When we began the foster care licensing process, I started reading as much as I could about childhood trauma, foster care/adoption, and child development. For me, the most powerful takeaway was that the brain is moldable and we have the power to rewire brain connections throughout our whole life. As we, slowly, day by day, see what safe feels like and learn what love is, our brains can rewire to accept this new truth.* As a foster/adoptive mom, this was so incredibly encouraging to me. It gave me something practical to do for my kids. I can show up, day after day, as a safe person who loves them. There doesn’t need to be some dramatic healing moment, but rather, through the repetitions and rhythms of each day, we can slowly work towards healing.  In each “it’s okay,” “I’m here,” “I’m sorry,” and “I love you.” In  kisses good night, and dinners around the table.  These small things over and over again make up a truth that is felt deep in our bones - I am safe. I am loved. 

The lake has functioned this way for me in my own seasons of hard. Day by day, I trust that if I walk down there, I will see wave after wave roll in. The sand will be under my feet and the sky will be above my head. Each day looks a little different, but the things that matter are there and I can count on them. It’s connecting to these core repetitions in nature -  the rhythms of the shore - that break me out of whatever anxious loop or fear is running in my head. There will be a new day. There will be another wave, another sunset, and the clouds will move on. For me, this collection of paintings is a tangible reflection of the healing power of nature's repetitions. In each repeated brush stroke and shape, it is a reminder of what our God says about creation. It is good. It is good. It is good. And day after day, wave after wave, I know that it is true.

*(The Whole-Brained Child, Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson).