In the winter of 2002, when our country went to war in Afghanistan, I was working in refugee resettlement and living with refugees from Iraq at the Melita Welcome House in Guilford, Connecticut.  These paintings were inspired by that experience.  “Attack” attempts to capture the violence and chaos of war.  The dripping background of “Exodus” represents the tears of people fleeing their homes.  “Madonna” depicts the vulnerability of mother and child against a backdrop of bloodshed and terror.  In “Hope” the church in the distance represents the  possibility of new life that awaits those who make it through.