Love, loss, anger, change, and humor are among a handful of emotions and experiences that nearly everyone will experience during their lifetime. One of my primary artistic goals over the last several years has been to explore these universals through self portraiture in a variety of mediums, as both self reflection and examination, and as a means of emotionally connecting with the viewers, and creating an avenue for understanding and empathy. I believe that one of the key entry points to experiencing empathy is the recognition of shared or similar experience. From that common starting point, we can develop dialogues with each other that can branch into less familiar, or entirely foreign territory, with open minds and listening ears. Self portraiture is not just a self indulgent act, or a question of who are we as individuals. Rather, it is a question of who we are in relation to those around us.