*** A note before you listen: This conversation includes candid reflection on past pain and trauma. ***

Devorah Brinckerhoff spent years showing and selling her work in galleries and then walked away to build something entirely her own. She calls it a Soul portrait: a piece made from the personal materials of a life, letters, photos, journals, the things a person can't put down.

In this episode, Devorah talks about the moment that changed everything: taking a pile of documents, ripping them apart, and gluing them back down as art. "I reached this ember of strength and this fire of love, self-love that was inside of me," she says. What started as a private act of reclamation became a public one, including a community art project in San Francisco where a stranger's quiet act of courage taught her something about what her work was really for.

A conversation about creative resilience, authentic connection, and what happens when we let the artwork speak the things we're too afraid to say ourselves.

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Speaking of Phenomenal is created and produced by Amy Boyle. Podcast artwork by Amanda Eich. "Woman" by Tiffany Villarreal, used with permission. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review and share the podcast, and stay tuned for more inspiring conversations. Support the show with on Patreon.