Time compresses when you’re standing around million-year-old cave formations, made only by dripping water. Underground at Carlsbad Caverns in deep silence, I felt safer than ever.

When I came home from that trip, I painted a 7-foot watercolor artwork, “Time Runs Through It.” It marked a moment of epiphany for me. If stalactites and stalagmites are formed from dripping water, isn’t watercolor the same? I asked, how do I recreate the intricate drying patterns uninterrupted for ages? That was the start of using ink to trace the dried pigment.

Before going to Carlsbad, I painted faces to try to make sense of the emotions I was experiencing. After, I found a new depth of emotions. The experience to just BE. When we are just being—like the walls of caves molding and melting as water passes through—we become a masterpiece.

I think about the massive Whale’s Mouth formation often. Absolutely giant, it embodies consistency, dedication, and acceptance.

Finally, this artwork gets its day in the sun!

I’m so honored to have “Time Runs Through It,” included in the 2023 MADE IN COLORADO exhibit, curated by Kerry Brougher (Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution) and Curator Nora Halpern.

You can visit the show at the Emmanuel Art Gallery, located on the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, CO!

You can purchase a print of the sister piece to “Time Runs Through It” below: