The Principles Collection
Artist Statement
The Principles: Series 1 + 2
(2026)
The Principles is a visual exploration of the spiritual principles found in the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous—the foundation of my sobriety for over a decade. These 24 mixed media pieces translate abstract concepts like honesty, hope, faith, and courage into layered compositions that reflect the complexity of living a principled life in recovery.
Since December 2015, I have created daily illustrated gratitude lists by hand. This series extends that practice into a deeper study of the principles that guide my recovery. Each piece is constructed through collage, painting, and mixed media using vintage sewing patterns, acrylics, found art, Japanese sumi ink, Japanese rice paper calendar pages, tissue paper, gold leaf, kraft paper, repurposed newspaper, original hand-drawings, and vintage pages from dictionaries, maps, and birding books—a process that mirrors recovery itself: gathering fragments, making meaning from brokenness, and building something whole.
I incorporate vintage sewing patterns to represent the tissue-thin vulnerability of early sobriety. The numbered pattern pieces connect to each of the 12 principles, creating a visual dialogue between instruction and reconstruction. Throughout Series 1, I weave the eight-pointed star as a recurring motif—a symbol that represents unity, harmony, and stability, reflecting the principles of balance and togetherness that are central to recovery. This geometric form echoes the foundation of the 12-step program itself: a structure built on interconnected principles that support and strengthen one another.
Painting on newspaper allows me to literally re-write my story—transforming what was temporary into something permanent and meaningful. The text beneath my painted layers remains visible in places, a reminder that we don't erase our past; we integrate it into who we're becoming.
The principles are lived experiences for me: the structure that replaced chaos, the language that replaced numbness, the practice that replaced escape. Through color, texture, and composition, I capture both the struggle and grace of practicing these principles in my day-to-day life.
This work is deeply personal, yet I create it hoping others will recognize their own experiences of transformation and healing. I recover out loud through my art to break the stigma surrounding alcoholism and offer visual proof that creativity can be a pathway to spiritual growth and authentic living.
The Principles is my visual testimony: evidence of a life rebuilt, one day and one principle at a time.
