"Gonzo"
Oil on Canvas
"He Knows Not
What He Does"
Graphite, Colored
Pencil
"Hanging Up the Cape"
Graphite, Colored
Pencil
"Food"
Acrylic Paint
"At One"
Colored Pencil
"2-D"
Embossing
"Zombie Bird"
Acrylic Paint
"It is Written"
Acrylic Ink
"Unbirthed"
Graphite, Colored
Pencil
"What She Wants"
Acrylic Paint,
Mixed Media
"Little Kolibri"
Block Print
"The Help"
Graphite, Colored
Pencil
Labilis Horis
Labilis Horis is the title of my first series. It is the latin phrase for “Fleeting Hours”, which is the theme I have attempted to present in this series of work.
Labilis Horis features a hummingbird in a gas mask. Many people have interpreted this to symbolize the negative impacts of climate change, and while that is completely relevant, my interpretation of the series reaches a psychological world more than a physical one.
Everyone’s life affects their work, there is no question of it. I created Labilis Horis while I was in high school. During this time in my life, as is parallel to nearly all teenagers, I struggled to find my identity, who I was and wanted to be as a person, and most of all, to be confident in who I was. I was very quiet in high school and believed that I was “masking” my identity and my personality. I was terrified to be myself. I didn’t want anyone to know who I was. The mask symbolizes this fear. It can help one breathe and feel safe, but it is an ugly black helmet that covers the eyes, the windows to one’s soul. No one can see the best parts of you. They can see me, but not my soul, not what made me inherently me.
So why a hummingbird? The hummingbird represents personality, the great wonders of a person and all the potential and vibrance a person can contain. It represents life and time, and how both are fleeting. I always liked the concept of a hummingbird representing this for me because of its physical appearance and the sentimental value attached to it.
So, here is a fact about me that surprises a lot of people:
Hummingbirds are not my favorite animal. (Penguins are). However, they remain of high importance in my life. My grandfather and I used to sit on his swing in his backyard when I was younger. He was a fantastic gardener. I know a lot of people’s grandparents are great gardeners, but when I say he was fantastic, I mean he was and forever will be the best gardener I have ever known. He one time planted a stick in the ground and told me it would grow. A month later is was a gorgeous red rose bush. His garden had countless zinas, honeysuckles, squash, and carrots. The highlight of his garden was of course his sunflowers. The stems grew thick and the bulbs heavy-some were a full pound. The sunflowers themselves towered over me and the flower was bigger than my head.
His garden attracted birds of all kinds, but the best were the hummingbirds. We often sat silent with a gentle sway on the patio swing early in the morning, waiting and watching. The hummingbirds would dart into the garden and fight over the abundant nectar, each wanting to occupy the biggest flower with the most sugar. He would always hilariously point out the fat hummingbirds that fought each other to be king of the feeder.
I put the hummingbird into a new situation in each piece, and each situation pertains to little moments of significance in my life.
What do you think each piece means? Email me your interpretations at: