I can say that I am obsessed with art making. Because of this obsession, it’s easy to forget there’s a world outside of my studio walls that I need to engage with in order to stay sane. In fact, needing to engage with nature is something that I feel in my core very often. I can feel a sort of emptiness and depletion when I haven’t gone outside and just slowed down. I think a lot of us can relate to this feeling nowadays. Thankfully, we have nature to reach for in times of exhaustion. It energizes me to look at trees, listen to birds, smell fresh air, and yes, even the sight of insects take me out of my mind and into reality. Here’s a self portrait of a fly landing on my face. It’s about how nature can have endless ways of abruptly awakening us from the trap of overproduction.