Recent Paintings
Video Art
Theregarde: A Crow's Tale
Beware the Dog
Thank You for Your Service
Cut-paper stop-motion art film depicting a neurotic crow and his struggle to belong
Cerebral and haunting art short exploring man's connection to trees, wood, destruction, and renewal. During the creation of this piece, the artist's home burned to the ground, along with her beloved cat inside.
Through this new art form--Digital Stained Glass--Verity sets animation to her poem about being a soldier, the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, and the wife of an Iraqi war veteran with untreated Post-traumatic Stress
Humalumin
A speculative design project envisioning a future where smart homes collect and use all forms of energy produced by humans
Shoshibo Parenting
Video art depicting what it feels like to be a mother, to mold and shape her children and, eventually, to let them go.
Dapper Dancer
A stop-motion character study practicing movement and animating marianette puppets on a green screen
Quandary Park
Stop motion silent short. A chance encounter between two strangers presents a moral dilemma.
Travel Guide to Life
Hermit Crab project--using the format of a vacation tour to depict the life of an army family and subsequent divorce.
Calamity James
A summary of Verity's first novel--creative nonfiction about a mob-owned hotel in Fox Lake IL
The Poetic Archive
We the People
Take Aim
We, who’ve been taught—
No, brainwashed—
Into becoming cannibalistic brethren
We who devour the daring
That read, and question, and articulate…
Bastards!
How dare?
Delicious stew of mouths and ideas
Dimples and dreams
Voices and vaginas
Boil it down into stock
Unrecognizable as humans
No, it’s not people
Get out your trusty label-machine
They’re not people
They’re illegal
They’re liberals
They’re fundamentalists
Socialist scum
Conservative cocksuckers
And don’t we hate them all?
Cook them down
Drink them down
Sip away their rights
Their hearts… their very souls
Another empty house to rent out
Good news for the good white
American apple-pie with college money
Oh, Honey
You have surely lost your way
You pastor without compassion
You faithful who lost passion
Passion belonging to Him whose name you claim
Lost. Lost. Lost.
And He said to love thy neighbor
Guess they think He meant only neighbors in your cozy,
Claustrophobic-xenophobic-freedom-phobic gated community
And don’t we know?
Didn’t you know?
Now I know
Why
Jesus wept
And Jesus wept.
Is it loaded?
Oh yes.
Is the safety off?
Yes indeed.
Are you ready?
I think so…
Steady now
Breathe in
Breathe out
Full glottal stop.
Aim the barrel of this
Loaded revolution
Right between their eyes and
-always remember-
Only shoot to kill
Diminutive
When the world grows too big
I hide in tiny palaces
Liminal gaps between locs of hair
Swing my feet off the delicate
Teacup handle
Skip laps round the
Scalloped saucer’s edge
Shrink myself down
A wonder in Aliceland
I bet
That beady-eyed rabbit
Never lived here
Sir Yes Sir
i’d forgotten it was there—the path—old crooked path—i covered it over—fallen leaves turned to soil—black fertile earth—tucked in plush velvet moss—i tried and toiled—buried ‘neath layers of time—laid down a crown—tiny white flowers—yellow daffodils spring after spring—drowned ‘neath rains of denial—warm watery bath—i washed it away in the countenance of cattails—swayed under the cypress trees—Spanish moss waved back—but the tree still wept
i’d forgotten it was there—wretched path i once walked—where snakes plunged fang into flesh—scorpion stinger slashed me—windpipe to womb—eyes closed by pain and paralysis—silent protests lost—be still, he said—venom pumps into me—lie still, he said—I will be your battle buddy—benevolent betrayer—I’ve got your six now—your six built for sex—impish impaler—Identity thief—be a good soldier now—he made me answer—and all i could mutter—sir yes sir
Ashes
I stood
Feet planted
In lapping waves
Of sorrow
Eighteen years away
From the shore
It was pretty
Unexpectedly so
Billowing cloud of cream
Ashes disperse
Beloved cremains
Fell like rain
Around my feet
Wrapping tendrils
Of love
I left her there
I left
But my body
Remained
Floating in currents
Of grief
Surf splashes
Into the pillar
Jagged rocks
Tumbled smooth
Against the
Days
Of her
Brief life
Oval stones stacked in
Loving monument
Of her
My soul
Is always there
Adrift in
The smell of her hair
I am buoyant
There
In the brine
Crystal clear
Carrot curls
Beside the ship’s men
Lost
In a cold
Winter storm
Violent blizzard
That came in early
June
Twenty-nine bells
Chime, chime
Chime
In step with my
Heart’s rhythm
For the stolen breath
Of the men
For the silenced voice of
Her
Bomb
I just stood there
Frozen in the wreckage
Assessing the damage
A live bomb
Strapped to my daughter’s chest
Her father and siblings beside her
BOOM!
Detonation
I watched them fall
Dominoes to the ground
Helpless
Unable to stop it
My brain struggling to even recognize
What is happening?
Too late
It had already happened
Their pain palpable
Hanging in the air like a thick fog
I must help them—
Rush to their side…
No use.
For now, I see
That I, too, have fallen
And I have no idea
How to even begin
To get
Back
Up
The Boundary
The Me’s approached her
Once more–her beloved Me’s
Arms raised
Grasping hands clawing for
Anything
Her toe pointed
Dug deep into earthy soil and
Carved a moat ‘round
What was left
Of her
“You shall not pass”
Softly stated, a proclamation
Of self
Of safety
Of now
Still they protested
Clamoring for more
Pieces of her to be
Given freely
Quietly she stocked her
Moat with Koi and
Smiled at their
Vivid whites and
Oranges in the sun
Me’s left her there
Alone in that moat
She missed their
Company but
Made friends with
Her Koi and
Finally
With herself
Gone Too Soon
Away on my chariot of linen sheets
They rushed us down crowded hallway streets
In through the silver swinging door
The surgeon donning gear for war
His uniform, a faded smock
With fist proclaimed
“She is in shock!”
Spotlight shone upon my face
This Samurai with quickened pace
Their tests had damaged deep, my womb
Which quickly would become your tomb
These warriors sworn to protect
Had forced a test with bad effect
Their reckless deeds had lost my faith
Awaiting your impending wraith
They leered at me through sterile masks
Pinned me down, each had their tasks
Shining swords, they cut me deep
My frozen screams with you asleep
Ripped you from me with greatest haste
I lay torn open, an empty waste
Pale as the moon, your big blue eyes
So small and frail, I heard no cries.
One pound is all there was of you
Precious monkey feet askew
In briefest pause, your gaze met mine
Pain turned to love, a song divine
Within my palm, your soft, warm head
You gently cooed, my breast your bed
A lifetime planned in wistful dream
We’d walk beside the tranquil stream
My soul had taken its first flight
I kissed your face, and all was right
Alas, my pain was prophetic
This curse on you was genetic
Those feet, a sign of things to come
Condition to which you’d soon succumb
One egg was fertilized two times
Statistically, this undermines
A miscarry in every case
But, born alive? An act of grace
Then in my arms, your lips turned blue,
And there was nothing left to do
My heart had grown a pair of wings
All pain was lost in useless things
Those tender moments that we shared
No single thing could be compared
So bittersweet, fate would contrive
We’d meet in love, but lose in life
No words remain
Not a heartbeat in refrain
Adia Meara was her name
I will never be the same.
The Rhino
Feet of great boulders, heavy and loud.
Stomping and scuffling, angry and proud.
Taunting, tormenter. Tranquility thief.
Diabolical devil. There is no relief.
Ornery and plotting, Eager to charge.
Driven to trample, a dastardly march.
Skin made of armor, so callous her hide.
Weight like a freight train, a stumbling glide.
Nothing to stop it, nowhere to go.
Brace for the impact! Hurts more than you know.
My heart is in tatters, maiming of mind.
Unspeakable cruelty, actions unkind.
Impaled on her ivory, betrayal supreme.
No air left inside me; I can’t even scream.
The face of a loved one, the eyes of a shark.
No justification, I’m lost in the dark.
She tramples right through me, leaves me for dead.
She’s gone in an instant, so much left unsaid.
A soft little baby, once held in my arms.
No one could have warned me, her treacherous charm.
Some children are born wrong, not right in the head.
No measure of loving, no case that is pled
Can light up the darkness recessed in their mind
Or fill up the black hellish heart you will find.
Antisocial PD. Psychopathy, too…
They won’t lock her up for what she might do.
Adopted a monster, loved like she was mine.
Now loose in the world, and my hands are tied.
You see, she’s my baby, forever will be.
I can’t walk away, won’t toss out the key.
So, I stand in this place with arms open wide.
Motherly longing, burning inside.
Waiting in silence, relieved that she’s gone.
Is this my penance, some horrible wrong?
My breath trapped in stasis, is she alright?
Has she damaged another? My soul shakes with fright.
In the distance a rumble
rolls over the hills.
A moment of happy,
followed by chills.
My heart’s torn asunder,
my gut filled with dread.
Self-loathing, I ask,
“Is she better off dead?”
I stand
~Not always tall, but I take a stand~
I get up
~Not always gracefully, but I get back up~
I walk
~Not always swiftly, but I walk on~
I speak
~Not always eloquently, but I speak my truth~
I sing
~Not always on key, but I rejoice with song~
I laugh
~Not always appropriately, but I share my joy~
I love
~Not always wisely, but with all my soul~
Spine
The Willows
I used to pity the weeping willow who hung her head and cried.
Professing love for one who’d left her battered and bruised to die.
I met my love as blossomed cherries, planted in a pair.
In awe of him, he rescued me, concerned for my welfare.
He guided me on righteous paths, our branches intertwined.
Then shaped me into ladyhood, braided and refined.
With each attempt to stretch my branches out, I’d come up short.
He’d wrap around the bulk of me and push me even more.
I failed him time and o’er again. He patiently withstood.
Shouldering and smoldering, until I understood.
Until the day a strong breeze came, and I began to sway.
I realized his stranglehold but couldn’t get away.
The weight of expectations nearly snapping me in two.
I saw he wasn’t carrying me. “It’s I who’s lifting you!”
It took so long to realize this wasn’t love at all.
So skillfully he’d twist the facts and make me take the fall.
In all these years the bending ‘neath his will, I had survived.
He’d nearly choked my life away. I’m glad to be alive.
This Narcissist had done his deed. I plotted my escape.
But everyone I’d known and loved would be lost in the wake.
I’d raised my kids beneath his shade, his family was my own.
Our friends held him in high regard. He’d put on such a show.
When I began to push and pull, he saw the end was near.
He painted them a tale of woe, my reputation smeared.
Then one by one they walked away. The damage had been done.
I hung my head, began to weep. A willow, I’d become.
Sons
Tiny voices dripping with rage
Rage that was born the day lies were sewn
Grown into a fine young man
Men armed with armor
Amore and broken sword
Sword-fighting its way across the country
Country of my sons’ mind
Mind your manners dear one
One final word of defiance as he left
Left my heart—emptied out chest
Chest of lies he was handed
Handed me an eviction notice from his daily life
Life that now flounders, squandered and spent
Spent like a sail-less ship in a storm
Stormed out the door flipping the bird
Bird with clipped wings and he’s off on his way
Away on the path he fumbles into
Into the open--he’s gone.
Missing
In the summer of the warm winds
I will find you there
When the ground has claimed skin and bone
When my voice is gravel
My hair straw
When the sun has set
And the clouds, a vapor of memories forgotten
I will hold you
The answer to the questions
Meaningless in the light
The stories tall
Anger falls
I still know the line of your face
Hoard the laughter
Treasure the tears
I will kiss you
Forever, my love
My heart
My air
My purpose and meaning
I will see you in heaven
Perfected
My child
Sculptures Showcase
Interlacing clay and metallic threads to redefine geometry through visceral shapes and raw textures.
Paid in Full
Paid in Full detail: showcasing the intricate textures and metallic thread integration within high-fire clay.
The Bather
The Bather: Exploring the fluid boundaries between form and surrounding space through sculpted clay.
Love Lorne
Love Lorne: A visceral exploration of shape and materiality, redefining geometric expectations.
Ire of Eire
Ire of Eire: A conceptualized sculpture using elemental textures to express raw, focused emotion.
Touched
Touched is about the damaging effect on loved ones of someone who suffers from mental illness. The inscription on the back reads, "To all those who love someone with mental illness and walk the path of pain... To wisdom, and to a cure."
The Farmer’s Daughter
Underglaze over high-fire clay. The model was an organic farmer, which inspired the scene depicted on her body.
LOST WORKS
On December 8, 2024, Verity's entire life's work was consumed by a devastating house fire, along with her beloved cat and everything she owned. Though it was a painful loss, her autistic daughter said it best: "Mom, I loved your work... it was beautiful, but it all came from a place of darkness. You're not in that place anymore. I can't wait to see what you do next."
These low-resolution images are all that remain.
