04/19/2026
There’s something really special about reconnecting with your roots and remembering where you started. Between the daily hustle and being a busy mom, I’ll admit I sometimes lose track of those memories—I’m usually just so focused on the here and now.
But I was talking with my mom about family recently, and she reminded me of something I’d totally forgotten: my Great-Aunt, who was a famous sculptor in Romania, actually made a sculpture of me when I was a little girl. As we talked, it all started coming back to me.
I remembered how much I loved going to her house. She had this incredible atelier in Bucharest, and watching her work was like seeing museum pieces being created right in front of me. I must’ve been about 9 or 10 years old, and it made such a huge impression on me.
I also spent a lot of time with her daughter, Pitu, who was in university for architecture at the time. I have this specific memory of playing in her room while she had these huge, important design papers spread out for an exam. My great-aunt got a little stressed because I was jumping on the bed nearby, but I was so careful to stay away from the drawings. I knew how much they mattered, and Pitu trusted me not to ruin her work.
Thinking back on it now, I’m so inspired by her directness and the simplicity of how she created art. It makes me just want to get out there and create. I’ve always believed that art is a practice—the more you do it, the better you get.
It feels even more significant looking back at that time period. Romania was going through some very oppressed times, so seeing a woman sculptor and teacher who worked with everything from clay to stone, creating public monuments and life-sized pieces, was actually quite rare. She was a true force.
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**PS:** The last two images are some of my own sculptures.
