Samantha: The Art of Becoming Whole
S13, Ep. 1: Samantha
Samantha Verrone is an interdisciplinary artist. Exploration of how time is spent, what holds our attention and a slow, mindful method using plant and mineral dyestuffs, hand stitchwork and foraged materials form the taproot of her process.
Sam is a baby scoop era adoptee from New York City, raised in Northern Westchester, NY along with her brother, Dave (S11, Ep. 14). After reunion, it took another 2 decades for the FOG to lift. As Sam discovered, the closed adoption system is built upon a foundation of shame, secrecy, identity erasure and forced gratitude. It takes time, determination, resilience and connection with other adoptees to dismantle.
The experience of coming out of the FOG has illuminated how deeply relinquishment and adoption have affected Sam’s life. Her lifelong fascination with found objects and materials marked by time and imperfection reflects an ongoing exploration of identity, belonging, loss, fracturing and connection. She works with foraged fragments without erasing histories, instead blending, mending, rearranging, deconstructing and reconstructing, transforming them into something new, collaborating with the past. Her work considers what we inherit, what we claim and let go and centers integration.
Through caring for her adoptive mother with dementia, Sam developed a method of supporting people experiencing cognitive decline. This work has deepened her understanding of care as a creative, relational practice—one that honors identity and preserves the dignity of the individual. Again, integration is the nexus. Care, craft, and culture are intertwined. Art is powerful healing.
Season 13 Book: Who is a Worthy Mother? by Rebecca Wellington
Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th
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RESOURCES for Adoptees:
Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.
