One of my older works.

Title: Untitled (September 9, 2001)
Year: 2001
Dimensions: 14 in. X 17 in.
Media: Charcoal and pastel on paper

At the time I drew this piece, I had been in the midst of a very long, very dry art phase. I hadn't drawn or painted anything of note in years before I was suddenly compelled to draw this. The imagery came to me in a dream, if I remember correctly. I had no idea then, and still have no real idea, why I was so driven to create this; it was just something I HAD to do.

The eerie thing about this piece -- if you'll notice the date, it was exactly 2 days before life changed for every man, woman, and child in America. Prophetic....?

The only person to have ever seen this piece before today was my roommate. I have not wanted to really think about it for years.

Burned into my memory: "A plane just hit the World Trade Center"

I had been at work (at a bookstore) when one of my co-workers told me the news.

For a long time after that day, I was terrified every time I heard or saw a plane fly overhead. I lived near an airport at the time, and what had once been an everyday sound now sent me into a panic.

I am a highly empathic person, and being acutely aware of the emotional state of literally everyone around me, I often became completely overwhelmed in the months following.

I was like many who couldn't turn off the television or stop watching. Since then, I've pretty much stopped paying attention to the news altogether.

(From the information notecard I added to this installation)