About…
My name is Ariel and I live with a dog named Juniper. We are both landed on Duwamish land in so-called Seattle Wa. Find out whose land you are on here. Search for projects to support local tribal sovereignty. For those on Duwamish land you can pay real rent and support the petition for federal recognition of the Duwamish tribe here.
I was born in Easton, MD in 1986. I am transgender or some other flavor of the day gender-expansive. I identify as Jewish in a late blooming, patrilineal and anti-zionist sort of way, and you’ll notice some of my projects are dated based on the Jewish calendar. I feel oriented towards collective liberation through both my daily practice in community and through participation in political organizing. Creative practice, care work, and land stewardship are important to me.
My professional life has included work in art studios, galleries, parks, farms, public schools, and community based organizations. I have a Bachelors degree in Sociology and Printmaking and a Masters in Environmental Studies. I am working on my Masters in Social Work at University of Washington where I am a Carol LaMare Scholar in Oncology and Palliative Care Social Work. I focus on aging, death and healthcare equity while centering the intersectional transgender life cycle, land-based care work, and climate adaptation in my emerging social work practice.
I started this website to host my portfolios and projects. In the future this website might facilitate new earned income opportunities as I get back into selling creative work.
You can message me with loving feedback, purchase inquiries, or for networking.
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The following was written during my training to work with life limiting illness and grief across the lifespan. It seemed relevant to share here.
My obituary
Rough,
like water,
on the bay,
in the wind,
“white caps,”
Granny would say.
Small toes at the water’s edge,
where I first met the periwinkle snails
clinging to the shore grass.
Mom said she could see straight
through to the bottom
when she was a girl.
It’s different now.
Full moon on Black Water
wandering.
I
found
myself,
on the edge
of the prairie,
three thousand miles away.
Here
Where
Now
I sing
my wild wide armed spins
and off key tunes.
A guest
calling on all the soft bodied creatures
who tell me:
“go slowly,
be soft,
you are home.”