Artist: Margot Bergland

Medium: Heat pen drawing on solid wood

Size: 7.25″ x 9.25″ x 1″

Margot Bergland is from Victoria, BC, Canada, and she creates imaginative drawings using a heated pen on wood. In 2007, her artistic journey was interrupted by surgery and rehabilitation for a brain tumor which gave her permanent cognitive deficits, coordination issues, and fine motor skill challenges. With time, she adjusted to her disabilities and eventually began attempting to find a new creative voice. She tried many media before finding that pyrography steadied her tremors, calmed her nerves, and helped her focus. She hand-cut, painted, and finished unique frames for each piece, extending the character and energy of the artwork. This piece is an allegorical work that comments on the irony of believing we are independently empowered to alter the terms of our lives. It also speaks of how our pre-destined, unanticipated and inescapable experiences create the scars, fortifications and beautiful veneers we wear and bear.