My paintings seem to emerge from my childhood and the experiences I had growing up in Lithuania, a small country on the southeastern edge of the Baltic Sea. I remember our black and white TV, gray skies, peeling stucco buildings and long spells of rain in the summer. I remember brown wool school uniforms we had to iron every other day, mandatory parades and Soviet movies about World War II. Those of us that longed for color and sunshine sketched, listened to The Beatles and sewed or crocheted clothes. I believe that when we make honest marks, whether it’s on paper or canvas, in stone or clay, we map the present moment. Art is my tool for self-inquiry. Painting helps me bridge the distance between where I was before and where I am now, geographically, physically, spiritually.