On October 27, 2018, a man entered The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and opened fire on the attendees of that morning's Shabbat services. 11 people were murdered, and six were left injured.

Joyce Fienberg
Richard Gottfried
Rose Mallinger
Jerry Rabinowitz
Cecil Rosenthal
David Rosenthal
Bernice Simon
Sylvan Simon
Daniel Stein
Melvin Wax
Irving Younger

In my time living in Pittsburgh as a student teacher, my apartment was a mere 5 minute walk from the Tree of Life, and I often admired the ironwork in front of the synagogue. I taught many members of this beautiful temple in my art classes and know that many of them lost grandparents or beloved neighbors. The pain of being away from this city in its hour of need was nothing compared to the gutting numbness of yet another mass shooting. I feared for my students, but felt in my deepest heart a knowledge that they would have to be prepared in a way that I had never been.

In 2018 alone, Americans were the victims of 323 mass shootings. 387 people were murdered, and 1274 were injured. The average number of shootings per month was 26, meaning that we could expect a horrific news story once every other day, but more often than not, every day. In 2022, The Gun Violence Archive documented 648 mass shootings.

I have never grown numb to these events, only used to the feeling of my stomach dropping out of my body and an empty feeling of not knowing what to do... How am I supposed to help when I am a nation away? What is the point of sitting in a studio making art while children and innocents are being gunned down?

I do not know if my work makes a real difference or changes any minds, but when there is nothing else to do, I ask questions, and make.