Shop the Principles Collection

My work in The Principles is a visual exploration of the spiritual principles found in the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous—the foundation that has sustained my sobriety for over a decade. These 24 pieces translate abstract concepts like honesty, hope, faith, courage, and integrity into tangible, 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 as my primary art practice. This body of work extends that daily discipline into a more intentional study of the principles that have become my guideposts. Each piece is constructed through collage, painting, and mixed media—a process that mirrors the work of recovery itself: gathering fragments, making meaning from what once felt broken, and building something whole.

I incorporate vintage clothing patterns throughout this series to represent the tissue-thin feeling of early sobriety—that vulnerable state where everything feels fragile and transparent. The numbered pattern pieces connect the viewer to each of the 12 step principles, creating a visual dialogue between instruction, construction, and reconstruction. These patterns, meant to guide the creation of something new, become a metaphor for the blueprint of recovery itself.

Painting on newspaper serves as both material choice and metaphor. The newsprint becomes a way to literally re-write my story—covering old narratives with new meaning, transforming what was once temporary and disposable 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 not just ideas to me; they are lived experiences. They are the structure that replaced chaos, the language that replaced numbness, and the practice that replaced escape. Through color, texture, and composition, I attempt to capture both the struggle and the grace inherent in practicing these principles daily.

This work is deeply personal, yet I create it with the hope that others—whether in recovery or not—will recognize their own experiences of transformation, healing, and the ongoing work of becoming. I recover out loud through my art to break the stigma surrounding alcoholism and to 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.