'Ticket to Ride’ was never intended to be a self-portrait, but rather a front and side body study of a friend. However, while I was making this piece, I was also planning to pack up my cozy little life in sunny California and head out for my semester abroad in Stockholm.

The figure in profile represents the parts of me that were ready to make the leap and begin my adventure into the unknown. The red pallet of her skin intimates the flow of energy and anticipation that was coursing through my body everyday in the months before my move. Her face and hair are composed of a collage of images pertaining to things and places that are important to me, including a New York Subway map, a map of Sweden, an image of a ballet dancer, etc. These images are placed on the head and not the entire body as a representation of all of the things on my mind as I weighed the pros and cons of my situation.

The figure on the left facing front is, for the most part, without color. This figure embodies my fear and reservation about leaving a life that I had been cultivating for several years. This figure bears a human heart on her chest that is the same color as the figure on the left. The reason for including the heart was to say that my heart was the only part of me that was not ready for the adventure.