Functioning inside an emotionally-, spiritually-, creatively-constricting cuboid can be exhausting.  It’s a box that others can attempt to conform us in; but it’s also a box that we can sometimes unintentionally put our own selves in.

That said, a narrow space may also be designed to block out distraction and to create room and time for and with God to work within ourselves, which can provide the peace, clarity, instruction, and toughening needed to function better with life. 

Creatively, as a painter, the best, most organic ideas come to me in confined areas—in the car, in the shower, on the commode….  With my Narrow Space collection, I found a connection to the struggle and fine-tuning of movement and stretchings within restricted boundaries.  This collection displays figures on plywood panels 1ft x 4ft, with the tallest and most narrow piece at 5in x 6ft. These figures are contained, yet they move past the dimensions with their stories.

Whether we see narrow spaces as good or not so good…as we’re in them, the work has already begun to stretch and prepare us for the next, hopefully good, something.