Animals seem like little gifts the universe distributed for despondent humans. Puppies, kittens, fox kits, and badger cubs all seem too fantastic to be real. What about the graphic pattern of zebras? Or the ingenuity of ravens? I will climb any trail if I know I’ll find a madness of marmots at the top.

As a child growing up in Miami, I loved to imagine snow. Glitter falling from the sky and opaline hills. Red scarves and fuzzy boots. Hot chocolate and a crackling fire. It all seemed very exotic. Once I saw snow in person, I knew I never wanted to live without it. I shall measure my life in snowfall, not by coffee spoons.

I love artistic re-presentation because it defamiliarizes the everyday. Art makes the quotidian strange. Ideally, it puts viewers and readers in a state of awe. Paintings and plays, drawings and dormers, calligraphy and collage—whatever the medium, art makes people see the magic of everyday objects.

I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I want moments of deep connection—blips of time when someone gets me (and I them). When my husband remembers my favorite flowers. When I recognize our kid’s favorite boba place. Nobody needs to understand everything everywhere all at once.