Mutual Transformation

In the midst of imagining who we would like to be it’s easy to lose sight of who we really are and how in some cases that is so much more expansive and opulent than the goal. The way that so many aspects of our lives can easily be identified as what we got from the instances and who it turned us into. When there is a whole different side - the side of what we brought to the table, and the way that it molded countless others. 

She tells me first of the way she would see the black and white block lettering of the team jackets. The way they were so iconic to her and she could always spot them from anywhere in a gymnasium, packed hallway or busy parking lot. She wondered what it would feel like to wear that jacket and be a part of that team. “The best of the best,” she said. 

Years later the coach casually tells her to go grab something from his car for him. It is her black and white block-lettered team jacket. The perfect way to spend a perfect moment is all alone, looking down and knowing you are becoming what was once only a dream. It can’t really be shared just felt. 

She became the captain of the black and white block lettered team with the coat. She wore hers proudly for years and she never forgot what it felt like to only be able to imagine it. She became the captain. The kind of leader that didn’t emphasize placements or winning. She just wanted everyone to enjoy the time spent together. She drove hours every weekend for years just to be there. She was so in sync with the director that she knew what his looks from across the room meant. Years later he will write all of this to me as I create this art and I will smile. That director has always been a pretty guarded person (pun intended) and to see him light up and open up about her so quickly brings so much light and emphasis on this art. It is not often that you see someone who has given so much of their life to others really share with you what it feels like to receive that same respect and admiration in return. 

He continues: She knew more about me than she ever realized. I always treated her as an adult and gave her the respect that she gave everyone else. It was her maturity that helped her lead the group so far for so many years. We have the type of friendship that many don’t ever get the chance to take part in. 

Life can be such a contrast of black and white. The opposition represents in this art the experience of dreaming, becoming, and making a lasting impact. A portrait of where the black and white meet, becoming gray, and after a lot of time, work, and growing together - is a dazzling silver. 

I hope that every time this catches your eye you can take a second and have a smile about who you have become. A captain. A friend and confidant. An attorney. A beautiful person whose leadership, light, and heart radiates to many. Just like the black and white, I wanted to create both sides of your story with Independence. What you got but also what you gave too. The words about you are directly from f Chuck. The stories from both sides coming together represented in the sparkling silver throughout the opposition.