“BOTH…AND”

A collection of works

contemplating and experiencing

the duality of moments

As you experience this collection, I share how the phrase resonates through each piece.

Some of the dualities are heavy, some are light-hearted, but all are a part of how this collection came to be.

I pray that this allows you to see that dual feelings are okay— needed at times. They don’t discount the other, but instead, often times, give more meaning to one another.

“BOTH…AND”

BOTH BROKEN AND WHOLE

BOTH A MOTHER AND AN ARTIST

BOTH ALREADY AND NOT YET

BOTH CRACKED AND INTACT

BOTH TRUTHFUL AND LOVING

BOTH A SQUARE AND A RECTANGLE

BOTH TORN APART AND SEWN TOGETHER

BOTH SIMPLE AND COMPLEX

BOTH UNFINISHED AND COMPLETE

BOTH RUGGED AND RESTFUL

BOTH WEARY AND STRONG

BOTH PERSONAL AND COLLABORATIVE

BOTH WORN AND RENEWED

BOTH ALPHA AND OMEGA

BOTH EXCITED AND TERRIFIED

BOTH INTELLECT AND EMOTION

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION

—Duality in the day-to-day—

About a year ago, I sat in conversation with my husband. We were chatting about how it is okay— even normal— to feel multiple feelings at one time. As we grow from baby to toddler to child, we are often taught to think and feel one thought at a time:

“I am happy”, “this is hard”, “I am excited”, “this shape is a square”, “that coloring sheet is unfinished”.

However, as we grow, we see that life is a bit more complex, a bit more gray, & full of dualities.

“I am happy playing with my mom, but sad my sister won’t stop crying” (My life right now, ha!). “This is hard, but is also good and full of growth”. “I am excited to perform my solo and also scared that I may forget the words”. “This shape is a square, but also it can be called a rectangle” (Honestly, still so confusing). “This coloring sheet is unfinished, but it is complete in the eye of the artist” (my 3 year old who added one streak of marker across the page and wanted to move on to the next one).

Both happy and sad.
Both hard and good.
Both excited and scared.
Both a square and a rectangle.
Both unfinished and complete.

All of these examples are directed towards children (albeit adults can feel them as well), but dualism reaches into the heaviest parts of our soul.

I have found “both…and” to arise often within my faith in Jesus. It has led me to wrestle with confusion, lean into community, and ultimately trust in the goodness of God. In order to keep it brief, I won’t go into extreme detail, but if interested— I would love to chat through these thoughts more with you.

Both already and not yet. (already with Jesus, not yet Home)
Both broken and whole. (sinful, but pure in the eyes of God)
Both unfinished and complete. (a forever work in progress, but God sees me as himself—complete)

God is:

Both loving and just.
Both God and man.
Both Alpha and Omega.

After beginning to post about this collection, I had a women reach out to me and share that “BOTH…AND” is commonly used in the adoption/foster care community. She explained that it is used when describing the grief, sadness, joy, love, gratitude and confusion everyone involved can feel, often lifelong.

I personally have not experienced adoption/foster care first hand, but I have yet to come up with a duality that seems to fit quite like this one. 10% of profits from the “BOTH…AND” collection will be donated to a trusted organization that supports those going through this journey— exact organization to be determined.