TINA

Everywhere I go, I practice empathy. Art is where I first learned it, not for others, but for myself.

Art has been my oldest friend. Long before I understood why I needed it, I was drawing, painting, creating. It wasn't until life unraveled and I was forced to rebuild myself, that I realized art hadn't simply been something I loved, it had quietly been saving me all along.  Over twenty years of expression and ten years of therapy, I have learned to hone all types of emotions into meaningful and authentic expressive experiences.  

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I've spent years caring for others as a nurse, a crisis worker, and now as a Qualifying Registered Psychotherapist. Those experiences have only deepened what art first taught me: healing isn't about becoming someone else. It's about finding the courage to become yourself.  My mind works a little differently, and I've stopped trying to make that something to fix. Creative expression is how I breathe. Without it, I feel heavier. Through letting go of perfection, embracing play, and creating without rules, I didn't just rediscover my artistry...I found myself.

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I've always felt like I never quite fit the mold. Art taught me that maybe the goal was never to fit in. Maybe it was to belong to myself. Bent & Becoming isn't just about making art. It's about giving people permission to repaint their own canvas. To embrace imperfection, reclaim their story, and discover that the very things that make them different might be the things that make them whole. 

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The pigments of yourself that you've hidden,

often hold the colors that will allow you to paint your most authentic masterpiece. 

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BE bold. BE curious. BEcome.