During and after the presidential election, I was very disturbed by the news. In addition to getting involved politically I needed to do something to express what I was feeling. I created artworks with clay pears that reflected my reactions to what was going on. I often use pears in my work to represent people.

My People Were Refugees Too- A battered pear represents all refugees which I combined with images of my family from Europe juxtaposed with a photo of a Syrian refugee family.

Unity in Diversity- I was disturbed by the talk of “America First”. Everyone in the USA is from somewhere else, unless you are a Native American. Diversity is part of what makes our country great. I used many different representations of pears to reflect that diversity.

Boat People- I was upset by images of people dying on boats. I remember my grandparents talking about coming over to the USA on a boat. I also wanted to reference African -Americans who were brought to this country against their will; where many of them died on those slaves ships.