At a time when my life took a downturn I often found solace from my chaos by sitting and sketching on quiet beaches. On one of the beaches I retreated to, I began picking through the rocks next to where I sat. I pulled them out of the darkness below the surface, gently digging down and creating a hole, not unlike digging in the sand. I stood over it and observed the rocks pulled out, the rocks underneath and the depth of the hole. It felt like an abyss, a dark hole that seemed bottomless.

The act of pulling the rocks out, holding them in my hand and placing them on the surface felt meditative. I became engaged in the action of creating the holes, observing the rocks and keeping the structure from collapsing. This activity turned into a desire to create these structures on other beaches and became scientific observation (noting the geology and coastal geomorphology), nostalgic journey (visiting beaches from my childhood) and exploration (visiting beaches I had never been before).

I wrote about my observations, photographed and created sketches of the structures. These are recreated on 20 x 20 inch square birch panels using acrylic paint. They are uniform in appearance, though completely different, reinstating my need for order in my life. Amid the chaos I launched myself into creativity.

All these pieces have been sold. Five of them were purchased by NL Health and are on permanent display in the Mental Health and Wellness Centre, St. John’s, NL