
Pierced — The Stirring
Before the unveiling, there is the ache. The holy tension. The quiet whisper that something is being born.
Pierced is more than a piece—it’s a threshold. A visual prayer. A sacred unraveling.
At my recent Open House, Pierced was honored with the People’s Choice Award, receiving the most votes out of 36 displayed works. Its resonance was clear: hearts were stirred, stories were remembered, and something deep was named.
This September, Pierced will be exhibited at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan (September 18 – October 4, 2025). To explore the unfolding journey behind Pierced, visit theartofreturn.com —a space of wonder, story, and sacred return.
For now, I invite you to pause here. To let the image speak. To feel the stirrings of grace.
My heart is learning to expand. Much like it did when my children were born, as I watched them grow. Now as they are birthing relationships and families of their own, my heart expands even more. As my faith grows in this life journey, I see the walls of my heart blown out. I see now that love was never intended to be contained in the heart! Love was intended to be sent out to live. Like the suns flames warm the earth from 93 million miles away, so can the waves of love coming from a overflowing heart, transform the atmosphere!
In the A Transformation Revealed Series
Dimensions: 20 in x 20 in x 1.5 in
Material: acrylic pour paint on 1.5' deep canvas
2022
Therese Kettman
Studio Owner
In 2021, I answered a long-silent call within me—the desire to create. It began with colors: letting them clash, collide, move, and flow side by side. The more I immersed myself in the process, the more I became lost in a world of boundless exploration. I discovered that I had been holding back, denying the inner tug to take a chance, to embrace freedom, to get gloriously messy. I realized something beautiful: I don’t need to know what the end will look like, because the real magic happens in the adventure of the 'in between.'
This journey has been all about taking a plunge—a leap into the unknown, into a new world of exploration:
A plunge into discovering my artist voice.
A plunge into building new connections and finding my creative community.
A plunge into recognizing my worth in simply being—giving and receiving.
A plunge into vulnerability, visibility, and courage to take risks.
A plunge into unfamiliar territory, like stepping into a foreign land where I don’t know the language or the cultural rules.
And so, here I go, stepping boldly into this adventure of creativity and transformation.
— Therese