Art Beyond Canvas

28.11.23

I turned 50 on 28 November 2023.

It wasn’t dramatic. It was calm. A quiet acceptance that felt almost unfamiliar as if life had gently tapped me on the shoulder and said, you’re here now.

My youngest, now a teenager , slowly stepping into his own world. And somewhere in that shift, I felt a question rising within me: what next? Not in a restless way, but in a sincere one. I wasn’t looking to start over. I wanted to return to myself.

This study emerged from that place.

I chose wood because it felt grounding and warm, a material that didn’t pretend to be perfect. It carried grain, history, and resistance much like life at fifty. Painting on plywood asked me to slow down, to respond instead of control, to let the surface speak back.

I named this work My Whole Heart because that’s what it required of me. Not vulnerability for display, but strength the kind that comes from stepping forward again after years of putting others first. After being a stay-at-home mother, this was a quiet declaration: I am here, and I am allowed to take up space again.

This work was made for myself. I wanted to stay true to my voice, knowing fully that not everyone would accept it and being at peace with that. There is a freedom that comes with no longer needing approval, only honesty.

Looking back, this study feels like a full circle moment. I once studied interior design but never practised it professionally. With this work, I found my way back not through furniture or floor plans, but through form, material, and presence. A way of contributing to the spaces people live in, emotionally and visually.

My Whole Heart became the beginning of a larger conversation one that would later evolve into my modular pieces. But at the time, it was simply a moment of clarity. A pause. A grounding. A return.

This was the first of sixteen studies, made without a final destination in mind. Over time, these pieces began to speak to one another, eventually forming the foundation of my modular works. I’ll be sharing each study here come back as the chapters unfold.

Still in Motion – Reena