When I turned twenty, I felt something emerging. I couldn’t describe the visceral feeling, but I realized it was the start of my transition from girlhood to womanhood. Adulthood is legally earned at eighteen, but for me, twenty is when I felt I crossed the threshold. I grappled with questions about what womanhood meant and the presence of the feminine spirit. Am I prepared? All That Bears visualizes my maturation process, embraces femininity and explores how I exist as a woman within my life and female connections. My ancestor’s gentle hands taught me to be kind, strong, and empathetic, and I carry these values as I establish my definition of womanhood.

I wear my mother’s dress to connect to my matrilineal past. I perform within the landscape, connecting with life cycles inherent in nature that I carry in my body. I am changing. The agricultural and wooded landscapes I photograph provide a peaceful, sacred space to create, reflect, and define who I am and the woman I am becoming.