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“I Am the Sun” is a one-of-a-kind spirit figure created in early 2025 as part of an ongoing body of work exploring grief, vulnerability, faith, and survival. This piece exists in direct conversation with my other works “No Escape” and “Grief Became My Identity.”
The figure is intentionally posed in the shape of a cross or crucifixion. His arms are extended, leaving his broken heart fully exposed to the world—unable to close himself off or protect what has already been wounded. This posture reflects my lived experience of PTSD and grief, when my heart was open, raw, and easily hurt, and when indifference from others felt like arrows striking an already fractured soul.
Yet the sun kept rising.
The spiral on his hat represents sunshine, fire, and strength, while his crocheted jacket catches and reflects light—symbolizing warmth, protection, and the quiet presence of grace. His body is tightly bound in vivid color, expressing how grief can immobilize us even as life continues to move around us. He is faceless by design, because pain makes us universally vulnerable, dissolving individuality into something shared and human.
This piece is also deeply tied to my mother’s illness. As she suffered, her vulnerability made her a target—but I was sent to protect her, and that is what I did. When grief came for me afterward, protection arrived through nature, light, and the steady presence of the sun. This figure is both witness and testament to that truth.
🧵 Materials & Process
Needle felted wool spirit figure
Hand-crocheted wool jacket
Mixed fiber techniques
Approximately 20 hours of hands-on work
📏 Dimensions
Height: approximately 10 inches
Arm span: approximately 8 inches
