“What is home?” is a series that celebrates my Appalachian ancestry while also navigating my way through the challenges of my parents’ divorce.

I’ve spent time over the past years thinking about what life was going to be like once one whole side of my family was severed, the one whose Appalachian roots I share. My reasons for cutting them off are justified, and my mother and I have been healing from it since.

The Center of Visual Arts is a local gallery that has calls for art every other month. This new year, I’ve challenged myself to not only submit to each show that aligned with my creative efforts, but also create new works that are specifically made for them. In short, new works are painted every two months. It’s been a ride!

CVA’s next call for art is themed “Envisioning Folk Art: Inspired by Heritage.” This was how “What is home?” came into fruition.

I have two pools of ancestral inspiration I could have drawn from. The one I’ve begun with my paternal side of the family in WNC, or art inspired by my mother’s side of the family, both her parents from the Carpathian region in Poland, the style itself echoes already in my creative preferences. Bold, colorful, and inspired by nature.

I felt compelled to paint works featuring the house quilt motif pattern. The reason? Not a day goes by that I don’t think of my childhood home. The mountain that I grew up on. My bedroom, which sparked my creative curiosity. The forest was my playground. It was a magical time, that’s for sure.

“You can never go home again.”
-Thomas Wolfe