Painting has been an aspect of my well-being for a long time. I first turned to art after a medical emergency in my late teen years. In. the aftermath, I was astounded by the capacity of art to help me cope with both my physical and emotional recovery; creating paintings taught me how to face my inner dragons, and to become more patient, kind, and dedicated.

My approach to art therefore encompasses the visual and the spiritual, merging my experimentation with colour and image with a practice that involves words of intention or prayer – a consciously embodied and emotional engagement that allows each piece to emerge out of a conversation with myself. The explosions of colour and mark-making that I use to create abstract images or portraits of people, animals, and nature express the wisdom I achieve through the creative process, celebrating what it means to be alive and connected to the world around us.

In recent years, I have also explored my Vietnamese-Chinese-Canadian identity, seeking to understand myself in a complicated social context. I was raised in a home that honoured its Asian heritage, but living in a small, largely white town in Alberta meant that I often felt unsure about my belonging. My art helps me to appreciate and articulate the Buddhist traditions I grew up with, as well as the truth of who I am in a society that does not always make room for Asian female artists. My images and my artistic process seek to liberate me from social expectations, using joyful colours, visual story-telling, and dynamic markings to suggest that we can tell the story of who we are in a world that is both mysterious and open to change.