Blog: All Rise

Featured image: All Rise

Ladders are a symbol that I frequently use in my work. Sometimes there is just one ladder, sometimes there are many. For me, the ladder is always about rising up.

Out On A Limb by Christine Alfery

Ladders can offer a way in – or ladders can offer a way out. Many of my works and symbols are about not being entrapped in something that doesn’t work for you. They are about finding a way to get out and getting to where you want to be. 

The themes of escape and release resonate throughout my work. My circles frequently are open - not closed. Cages often have shapes trapped in them - and shapes escaping. 

 Connection by Christine Alfery

The opposite can also be true. That big open space that you think you were working towards may not be as full of all the wonderful things you thought or hoped for. Perhaps you want a way back. Is one necessarily better or worse? It is a question I always return to – do I take the red pill or do I take the blue pill?

My painting “All Rise” is about the sting COVID has had on every single individual in our country and the world.  It is about the changes that everyone has made to overcome – to rise above this virus. It is about being knocked down and rising up again. We greet each day figuring out just how we can cope with this virus and still live. We will rise to the challenge. COVID is a challenge that will not keep us down. We will figure out how to live a full life again. This work is all about rising up again.