milwaukee, wi 2025 found objects, embroidery thread, stainless steel, glass beads

The challenges Milwaukee presented me have since returned threefold. My sabbatical in this city has gifted me the wisdom of at least five years, opportunities I could have never predicted, and people I get to keep forever.

Winter sealed in my tiny apartment revealed to me novel truths. I outgrew my fortress. Outside, I would recapture the child-like whimsy and lust for life I once knew so well. I walked block by block in my big red hat and tall black boots. Treasures scattered in plain sight, I just had to look. Beautiful trash wrote a new vocabulary for me to read my story. 

Lottery tickets for luck, the white rabbit to remind me I’m running late, an attendance slip because I know I’ll get there, a lost car part so I watch where I’m going, the wristband so I can get in, and a baseball ticket because that's what people know about this city.

Blanketed in lace, I wove myself into the pieces of Milwaukee just as they wove themselves into me. I took what I wanted and made it my own. 

I was 23 and now I’m 24, but every age I’ve ever been gets to play in this city.