What was a three year process of a lifelong endeavor ended abruptly with a registered letter stating that our leased space was sold. We had 30 days to vacate. 30 days to dismantle, sort, and purge. No time to process. This was December 2017 in the middle of the ice and snow storm, the irony was not amusing.

I felt the stripping away of my dream and my identity.

Ideals like rest, regroup, sabbatical, and fallow were suggested but all I heard was exile. I could not hear my own voice.

But during this uncertain time, I became my own student. I listened to the genuine messages of reassurance, validation, and encouragement I weave into lessons with my emerging artists. I made space for me and time to paint.

Something started to resonate.

And then there it was the last box, my voice hidden inside waiting to be decompressed and made usable.

Sotto Voce is Italian for quiet voice and this collection of paintings is a celebration of my voice returning.