The idea for this collection of paintings first came to me back in 2020 - during the early days of Covid. Everything felt strange and scary at the time. I remember my sister’s birthday was coming up and I was trying to focus on that. I needed a gift for her and I wanted it be special. I knew she had a small collection of vintage kaleidoscopes, so I decided to get her one to to add to the collection. Then the thinking started - how cool are kaleidscopes!? You just look through it and it transforms the space in front of you into a colorful dreamland. It actually changes your view/perception of things around you! Then I began thinking about how it applies to our perspective on life. Looking for the positive aspects of our lives and focusing our energy there…really transforms the way we experience life. (I’m aware that this is not always easy or even doable at times) but it inspired me to want to create a collection of paintings that explored perceptions and how we see things. Fast forward to 2 years later, the local Jackson Arts Council made the announcement that our city received government funded grant money and a portion of it would be available for individual artists. That was my cue - I could finally bring the vision to life. I spent two full days working on a pretty short application - I wanted to make it the best it could possibly be. And…I got the grant! So that’s how it all started and here is how it all ended up. There were 3 parts to my exhibit - the paintings, the community painting, and the make + take kaleidoscope station. I shared a little about each of them below. So, enjoy these highlights and pictures from a time that was full of painting, reflection and support from my beautiful community.

I created a total of 50 paintings for this project! 2 of the paintings were the Community Painting (more info about that below). The other 48 paintings consisted of:

• Still life paintings of actual kaleidoscopes - including the collection that inspired the exhibit

• Several conceptual paintings that explored how we perceive things

• A couple of portraits + several paintings featuring kaleidoscope glasses

To view (or shop) the entire Kaleidoscope collection - you can click here.

During the two days I spent writing my grant proposal, I realized that I wanted this experience to be more than just an exhibit of my paintings. I wanted people to come and create too! I had the idea to do a community painting. I would create the outline and then people in my community and people that came to the art exhibit would help to add the color and paint it in.

I decided the subject of the painting would be my city. When I first began embarking on my career as an artist - I had some limiting beliefs about the area I live in and my ability to be able make it as an artist living here. Eventually I realized that it was only my perspective that was holding me back - I began looking for the beautiful, positive things about the area I live in and found there was so much to appreciate. My community is full of beautiful nature, history, people who are excited to revitalize our downtown area and people who are committed to sharing their passions within our community. I wanted to share and highlight the beauty of my city through this painting…in the hopes that it would encourage others to see the beauty too.

The pictures below show the progression from the outline I created in the beginning, to local students and community members painting it in, to it hanging in its permanent spot at The Ned McWherter Center for Cultural Arts…here in downtown Jackson. The Ned is a public space where our community can enjoy the finished painting. It hangs at the top of the 3rd floor, near the stairs and meeting rooms.

Not only did I want people to have fun at my exhibit, but I wanted them to be able to take something tangible home with them - a visual reminder to look for good, for beauty, and joy. It just made sense that it would be kaleidoscopes - since my whole exhibit had originated from kaleidoscopes. I did a lot of research on how to make your own kaleidoscope…adapted several versions and created my own DIY version. A portion of my grant funds were used to purchase the supplies. We used cardboard tubes, wash tape, clear acrylic circles, holographic card stock, beads and colored paper to create them…and they worked!

I hope you enjoyed reading about this project! It has been one of the highlights of my art career. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity and the people that supported me along the way.