What is my response to the unspeakable violence in the world today? Science reveals 3 options to traumatic threats: fight, flight, or freeze. My thought is that when I create art in response to the aggressive acts of evil, I cover all three of those options.

I fight darkness with light; the darker the situation, the more I am compelled to create. I will not stand down and disappear. My posture is to stand tall in my studio and bring beauty to my canvas.

I will not flee my culture. I promise to stay, and through my art create a space where grace can uplift our souls. My body is earthbound and in my studio my spirit soars. God’s strength lifts me up, and on His wings we are all free.

There is a stillness I experience as I paint. This is a quiet breathing, not a frozen stance of fear. When I create from a place of inner calm, holding my paintbrush, breathing the wonderful smell of my oil paint, my soul is soothed and can channel God’s peace.

Today, in the face of the shootings in San Diego, I affirm that “though the darkness gathers round, songs in the night He giveth; no storm can shake my inmost calm while to that refuge clinging, since Christ is Lord of Heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing.” (Lyrics by Robert Lowry).