Seeing Yourself

The story behind this piece

See Yourself is one of the earliest pieces in the Perfectly Imperfect collection, and it still feels different from the rest. It literally lights up. When I found it, the light did not work, but I brought it back with a simple fix and a few dollars in parts. That small restoration is part of the story. Something overlooked, made functional again, then turned into art.

The lampshades became their own experiment. Painting on them changed the whole feel because the light does not just sit behind the work, it becomes part of the work. It gives the piece a presence that shifts depending on the room, the time of day, and what you are bringing to it when you look.

This one is also one of my wife's favorites, for reasons I still have not fully unpacked. For me, it brings a different feeling. Pride. Not because it is flawless, but because it represents the moment the work started to become real. Early pieces carry that energy. They are more instinct than plan.

It might feel a bit unfinished, but in the right space that is exactly what makes it right. A bar. a studio. a corner of a home where the light is low and the mood matters. See Yourself is a reminder that the point was never perfect polish. The point is presence. To notice yourself. To face yourself. To keep showing up.