30/08/2026
There is something powerful that happens when we stop comparing ourselves and start seeing one another.
Really seeing one another.
I have been thinking for a long time about the women who have in some way been touched by cleft.
The women born with a cleft.
The mothers raising children born with a cleft.
The women carrying babies they already know will arrive with a cleft.
The surgeons, nurses, therapists, advocates, artists and extraordinary humans who choose to stand beside our families.
Different stories. Different faces. Different lives.
But connected.
And I want to paint that connection.
My next major body of work will bring together 100 women connected by cleft. A collection exploring strength, femininity, identity, creativity and the incredible diversity of what it means to be a woman.
Not 100 versions of the same idea of beauty.
100 entirely different women.
This isn’t about being a “warrior” because life has forced you to struggle.
It is about recognising the power, wisdom, softness, courage, creativity and life already within you.
And I want the process of creating these portraits to matter just as much as the finished artwork.
Movement.
Conversation.
Creative process.
Story.
Connection.
Women witnessing women.
And perhaps, collectively, creating a different way of seeing ourselves and cleft.
This is only the beginning.
If you are a woman connected to cleft in ANY way and something in you is saying I want to be part of this, let me know in the comments, the list is growing already.
I want to start finding the first women whose stories will shape this collection. ❤️
