Traveling and My Art
Traveling and My Art
To wield a paintbrush through adventure
Moving and living in different areas has evolved my art over the years. It has made it possible for me to explore new colors, textures, patterns, and pigments. Since my art is topographical in nature, it was a natural process to transfer of all the shining parts of these environments into my paintings.
I was born and raised in New York City. When I got older I moved to Pennsylvania and attended LVPA with a painting concentration. I had grown up seeing the geometric grids of the city, buildings, metal, glass, plastics, cement, and waste. I watched how humans in the city clung to the small patches of greenery, despite how worn down and littered they were. It fascinated me how the natural gravitation towards nature overcame the people who lived there.
My mother took me to Pennsylvania for vacations when I was just a little Snow and we spent time in cabins by the lake. For as long as I can remember, I loved to watch the trees dance in the wind and sunshine, the water trickle through the streams and rivers and lakes, the colors of the seasons transitioning, the birds chirping and flying from one pine to the other, the berries blossoms blooming and turning to ripe blackberries in mid summer. The gratitude I felt then has since then grew to be such a deep love it spills out of me and is impossible to hold. I must share it. I remember saying thank you to the sky the water the mountains even the dirt as I held it in my hands. I remember trying to give the salamanders pets on their backs and singing with the birds. And there my nickname began. Snow White.
I had a sweet childhood getaway a few hours away on the east coast shore. A little beachside bungalow tucked away in the trees of the bay. Even though I lived in the city, I was able to escape to this hidden gem with my mother and brother often. Looking back, it was one of the most precious places of my young years in addition to my grandparents garden. Both places taught me of my natural connection to nature and gave me time off grid to immerse myself in learning, observing, and cherishing. Down the shore, I learned to meditate by the water on driftwood in the stillness, how to learn the signs of nature in the animals, the elements, the storms. I had a small kayak I would take out on the water by myself each morning and watch the sun rise over the waves around me and watched the animals waking and starting their days along with me. I studied the marine life, insects, small rodents, birds, and more. I kept journals where I would write and draw about my findings. I enjoyed creating short fictional fantasy stories about creatures I drew up in my mind by playing off all the parts of the ones I observed. I read books laying in the branches of a massive tree that my mom used to play in as a child and made a treehouse in with her sister decades prior. I dreamed of seeing art in the sky, water, sand, rocks, marsh, and shells of crabs. I had a ritual when we finally entered the gravel road leading to the house to stand up and stick my head and arms out of the car and scream happy sounds. Each time we would pass over the salty rusted wooden bridge where the turtles would relax underneath I was overcome with joy. I studied their shells and was fascinated with the ways that barnacles and algae grew on them like earrings and mini fur coats. I sang to them and watched them stack on top of each other on logs and bask in the sun. I learned how to tune into my natural rhythm and the sounds of the earth, drawing swirls and shapes in the sand like a patchwork quilt.
In my grandparents garden, I was able to escape from the intensity of the city to a lush hideaway grown from their love. Bushes of berries and heaps of tomato plants brushed my limbs and the strong bright green grass twirled around my feet. I would pluck juicy figs from the trees and waddle through my pop pops hot pepper garden. I loved listening to him teach me about his techniques while I engorged myself with fresh candy sweet tomatoes right off the vine. I’d lay near the grape vines and watch the clouds drift as the breeze combed through the trees. My grandmother would walk me through her garden one plant at a time. She taught me about all the names, colors, scents, and growing seasons. She is my reason for loving flowers so very much. We would eat fish and drink tea and sit under the stars for hours laughing and telling stories. I’d nibble on spicy ginger snaps while I watched my grandpa tend to the giant sycamores by collecting their shedded bark in big bags. My childhood was defined by this place and the shorehouse. Both of these places undoubtedly forged a love for the natural world in my soul from the moment I was brought to them as a baby. It sent me off on a quest to find as many other places of sublime beauty that I could.
When I moved to Pennsylvania I got to experience how much it truly had to offer. I realized how much I hadn’t had the chance to see before. I found a wonderful group of like minded people that showed me the way of cold plunging, waterfalls, scaling mountains, cliff jumping, foraging, gardening, pickling, rope swinging, and studying the forest. My life was forever changed and these things will never leave me. They are engraved deep in my heart.
After graduating high school, I moved to the west coast. Completely alone without my family or friends I was ready to take on the immaculate greenery that I researched all throughout high school. I left with the money I saved for the trip, my suitcase, hiking pack, and boots. I worked on a farm and lived nestled in the emerald mountains of Oregon and Washington. I learned how to forage medicinal plants, flowers, and mushrooms. I helped birth animals, learned to make fruit wines, steamed nettle, homemade bread, sauerkraut, and beers. I laid in the middle of the field with the sheep in sunshine and at night when the Oregon sky was so bright with stars that it lit the landscape aglow like spotlights. I spent hundreds of hours tending to the land and furthering my connection to the Earth. I had never experienced greenery so intense that it seemed to be tinged with blue until that particular time in my life.
With the arrival of new family I made my way back to the east coast to my beloved Pennsylvania. I jumped right into college and after lots of hard work and tons of fun, I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts. The people who taught me and those I learned with are worth an entire blog post on their own. What a wonderful and joyous time in my life. In the midst of my college journey I miraculously reached one of my bucket list goals. I found my purpose as an artist. A completely individualized and specific niche of art making that is all my own. I devoted my life to a hybrid of color theory and the natural world and haven’t looked back since. Having made my first official and documented painting at 4 years old, it was a surreal full circle moment. I made it happen. Kutztown was the perfect town with little going on, minimal distractions, and a plethora of nature to study in town and nearby.
After leaving, I moved north. In addition to working in the arts I was able to start traveling like I had always wished. Nonstop and free. To the south, international, back to the east, out to the west and so on I have ventured. I have continued to travel and never have a solid home base, but instead tending to the home I carry that grants me that comfort wherever I go. Visiting my loved ones in Pennsylvania, New York City, and the surrounding areas gives me the ability to have so many roots of love to return to. There are so many versions of “home” and none are truly far away. As of 2024, I am still constantly exploring, traveling, and a whole lot of car camping while advancing my art practice. I’ll be writing posts soon about current adventures and formative experiences that are happening in my life now. Catch you then.
Love,
Snow
