Destruction With Intention: A Choice to Unmake and Rebuild

She Has a Choice — and So Did I

There was a painting of mine titled She Has a Choice. It had been part of a gallery show at the Gallery George in Gastown Vancouver. It received praise, connection, kind words - people connected with it. And yet — every time I walked past it, something in me recoiled. I’d nearly cringe.

Recently, during a deep conversation with two fellow artists, Marika and Ian — we’re in a group show together at the Kay Meek Arts Centre — Marika shared a story that struck me. Her sister, also an artist, smashes her pottery when it no longer feels right to her. The moment she said it, something clicked. The idea of destruction with intention felt… right.

Cathartic. Necessary.So, once the kids were off to school — I didn’t overthink it. I ripped the canvas. Broke the frame. Let it go.

What surprised me was what I found in the act of destruction: fragments that still held value. Pieces that felt right and powerful on their own Parts that deserved a second life.

I’ve now started working on a large new canvas — 7 feet by 5.5 feet — my largest work to date and I’m collaging select elements from the torn painting into this new one. A kind of resurrection. I get to choose what I carry forward — and what I destroy. There’s a choice aon what we pick back up - to continue on with. I didn’t expect it, but tearing it apart showed me what was worth keeping.

Looking at the ripped fragments from a new angle — in a new light — I realized I could turn what once felt cringe-worthy into something meaningful. Something mine.Even the pieces I wanted to reject had potential.

It just took destruction to see them differently.

Thanks for being here,

Nadia