Shells in Motion became a meditation on staying. In a body of work shaped by migration, longing, and the pull of elsewhere, turtles offered a different rhythm, one rooted in patience, protection, and the quiet act of carrying home with you.

Living in south Louisiana means existing in constant relationship with water. It surrounds, reflects, softens, and slows everything. Turtles feel like natural keepers of that pace. They move without urgency, guided more by environment than destination, reminding me that belonging does not always require movement.

This piece also carries the influence of my everyday surroundings. The glossy greens of my pool tiles, the warm light bouncing across water in my backyard, and the playful Palm Springs energy woven through my home all found their way into this work. That overlap between Louisiana landscape and personal space became a reflection on how place seeps into our interiors, shaping color, mood, and memory.

Within Cajun lineage there is a strong sense of generational continuity, of culture carried forward rather than chased. Turtles felt like a quiet metaphor for that inheritance, protective, enduring, and deeply tied to water as both habitat and history.

Part of my Land & Sea collection, Shells in Motion holds a slower emotional register. It speaks to steadiness, to the comfort of carrying home within you, and to the understanding that sometimes the most meaningful movement is simply learning how to remain.

12 × 24
Acrylic on Canvas