If there's a problem, there's a fix

Growing up in the ’70s I watched my dad take apart broken appliances, figure out the problem, and fix it with a 40-cent screw from Ace Hardware.

He taught me how to take things apart, troubleshoot and find solutions.

My mom taught me how to sew and to problem solve.

So I grew up learning how to mend things — loose buttons, broken appliances, complicated situations, and eventually all the moments that come with single parenting. I was always trying to figure out solutions.

I still carry that with me today. My motto has always been: if there’s a problem, there’s a fix.

But there’s one thing I still haven’t figured out how to fix: being an older woman in a man’s world. I honestly thought that battle would be over by the time I turned 30. It isn’t.

So instead, I make art about it. 

My tiles and art fragments are part of that process. When I take apart a larger painting and hold onto the pieces I can’t seem to let go of, that’s the fix. 

Maybe it’s about focusing on the smaller picture instead of the larger one. Maybe it’s my way of compartmentalizing. Knowing me, probably both. 

Either way, this new way of creating feels a lot like how I was raised — take things apart, figure out the problem, and find a fix.

Maybe that's all art really is. What's something you've fixed in your own life that surprised you?

.