Over the years, people have written to me to share that my artworks had a positive energetic effect on them, some of them facing terminal illness, others living with depression. After recent losses in my own family, and walking alongside loved ones living with terminal and chronic illness, I wanted to take on a different kind of challenge. Instead of making a piece about getting better, I wanted to create one for someone preparing to leave this earthly life for the next, and for the people grieving them. Held isn't meant to fix anything. It's meant to offer an exhale, a sense of being supported enough to let go.

At the heart of Held is a quatrefoil carved in stone, a sturdy anchor for everything around it and a form that in ancient Mesoamerica marked a portal between worlds. Within it rest five coiled baskets, each inspired by basket-making traditions from a different continent, including Rwanda, Sardinia, Chile, Asia, and North America. I chose coiled basketry because the spiral itself suggests growth, continuity, and return. A pale braided ring inspired by the plaited fiber work of Oceania encircles them, representing a sixth continent.

Beyond the braided ring lies dark earth, and around it gathers a ring of bowls, pots, and cups in clay, wood, and ceramic, all seen from above and open to receive. Unlike the baskets, these aren't tied to one particular culture. Simple vessels are among the oldest and most universal things humans make, and together they speak a shared language of care. The earth beneath them and the stars beyond suggest a gentle passage from earth to spirit.

The piece moves from the tiniest spiral in a single basket outward to the cosmos, with each container held within something larger. It's meant for hospice and palliative care spaces, bedrooms, meditation corners, and anywhere someone needs to feel supported just as they are.