I began The Fire Was Kind with a mysterious antique wooden structure whose original purpose remains unknown. I wanted to preserve its history—the aged architecture, unusual form, and functioning doors—while allowing it to become something entirely new.

As I worked, it began to feel less like an object and more like a small sanctuary. The woman within the flames, the moth drawn toward the light, fragments of old French letters, the celestial details and tiny illuminated interior all became part of a meditation on longing and transformation.

At the heart of the piece is a question: what if the thing we fear will consume us is sometimes the very thing that reveals us?

The moth approaches the flame expecting one story. Instead, she finds the gold.