Artist Statement ~ Before the Work Begins: Tipping Point Series
I have made my living as a personal organizer for over 20 years. People call me when they can no longer find their bills, when their home-based business has migrated to their bedroom closet, when their daughter has 45 Barbie dolls and she can’t find any of them.

There is often a tipping point before they call. They perceive their lives as full and well ordered, surrounded by what they love and have worked hard to acquire.

And then suddenly they are overwhelmed and nothing is where they think it is. It has all tipped over into chaos.

They call. We talk. We meet. I take photos to document what’s driving them crazy.

These oil paintings come from what I see in the photos: often beautiful rooms filled with wonderful things but in chaos, unmoored from function or utility, a source of tension, a landfill of stuff.

I remain amazed and moved by this abundance that has become a source of tension, unable to be enjoyed.

I once asked a client what something was that we had found in the bottom of her closet. Her reply: “If I knew what it was, I might need it.”