STEEL RESOLVE
16”x 6”x 2.5”
Mixed Media

Bending Steel

Early 2020. I was in New York on business when COVID19 hit. At that point it was still in it’s early stages. You were cautious, but could still perform normal activities. When it was time for me to leave and head back home was when things began to quickly change. As I boarded the train, I realized that I was literally running from an invisible predator who was indiscriminate in picking it’s host. Every little cough, every little sniffle, every person that brushed by me as they walked through the train was suspect. “Don’t worry, it’s just like the flu” we were told, but that was a lie. Little did we know just how deadly this virus would be.

As I sat in my studio back in the South and watched the virus ravage the people and city that I loved so much, the one thing that stuck in my mind was their resolve. The Healthcare Workers, whose only weapon was wrapping their faces in cloth on the front lines as they fought a deadly foe. The friend, armed with nothing but fabric, who made a point to walk her dog past a lone coffee cart every single day just so she could continue to support a small business owner. The veiled individuals who fearlessly took to the streets against injustice in the middle of a global pandemic with nothing exposed but their eyes, portraying a searing display of determination.

This is the true meaning and foundation of Liberty. This is Steel Resolve.

Steel and Paint.