Gathering Storm. 36”x24” acrylic on canvas.

I sketched the concept for this painting in the lead-up to the 2024 election, sparked by JD Vance’s use of his “Appalachian heritage” as political currency—as a gesture that infuriated me. Having grown up in Appalachia, I carry both pride and conflict about how the region is portrayed by outsiders. It’s a forgotten corner of the world, preserved in ways both comforting and stifling. Much of the area that I grew up in is still like it was over 40 years ago. Many homes still lack access to running water or plumbing. To outsiders, that may look like poverty, but to those raised in it, there’s a richness in the simplicity that outsiders rarely understand.

Yet that same isolation makes Appalachians vulnerable: cut off, often unaware of threats or of how easily they are turned into pawns in political games that rarely serve them.

When Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina soon after I began this piece, its timing felt too raw, even inappropriate. I shelved it for nearly a year out of fear it would be misread in the shadow of tragedy. Only after sharing it with friends who long lived in Asheville—and who reassured me of its integrity—did I feel ready to finish it and let is speak for itself.