“The Heart Speaks”
at In Demand Art Studios, Baton Rouge, LA

“The Heart Speaks” Immersive Art Experience at In Demand Art Studios in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Pieces include five (5) works from the “Heart Speaks” and the “ReAd All Over” collections. Works include “Heart Ache”, “Heart of Stone”, “The Broken Heart”, “Eat Your Heart Out”, “The Caged Heart”, “Target”, “Sanctification”, “The Gift”, and “Cake”.

Each heart tells a story—of love, resilience, loss, and transformation. "Art is my way of understanding the emotions we all carry—the pain, the healing, the love. Through my work, I invite you to see your own heart reflected in these pieces. Whether you are celebrating resilience, embracing transformation, or honoring love lost, there is a heart here for you."

The “Heart Speaks” series is all about art that explores healing through familiar idioms like “Broken Heart” and “Heart of Stone.” This collection utilizes multiple mediums including acrylic paint, gold leafing, leather, metal, and sculpting materials. While my first piece, “Heart Ache” took a year and a half to complete, the process for the paintings following took less time to evolve as I got into flow state.

My love of the written word and its complexities inspired me to take figures of speech and explore their dualities as they apply to matters of the heart, soul, body, and mind. I spend hours researching before I begin working, then meditating and reflecting on each piece once complete, having intimate conversations with them to discover the messages they’re meant to convey.

While I was working in graphic design, I became especially fond of creating icons for print and web. The idea that the icon is universally recognized without using words was an aspect I wanted to carry over into this collection. My work is also influenced by realism, surrealism, and art deco elements.

I don’t like to limit my practice by placing myself into one “style camp” or another. As an artist, I am of the mindset that the freedom to explore and experiment with different mediums allows the message of the work to be represented in the best possible way.

My "heart" pieces carry deep emotional weight, making them more than just art—they are personal reflections of the human experience. Each piece comes with a story, whether my own or one that resonates universally. Which heart speaks to you?

Lori and Beth literally answered a prayer. I had just talked with my coach about staying with her in the program, as I was falling behind on the lessons and payments. The goal is to create a solo exhibition and visualizing this process. I was pondering how I could arranged a solo show as a new artist in the area with no money, no venue, no marketing, no representation, and only five pieces completed. I had nothing.

Sitting at my desk I just released control to God, Universe, whatever you might call Source, and said “There’s nothing I can do. I give it to you.” Within three days, at a Creative Exchange lead by Lori and Beth, whom I had only met once previously, Lori offered me a solo show and took care of everything, I mean EVERYTHING!

She saw the previous pieces I had for ReAd All Over and wanted what I had of those as well. Incredibly enough, these two bodies of work came to me during significant phases in my own life, but also in a collective experience. It’s been a crazy, beautiful ride, sometimes tumultuous, sometimes joyful, a lot of pain, and an immense amount of purpose. Beautiful!