This multi-block print came into fruition as I continued to process deep heartbreak at the end of 2023. At this point I had spent an entire semester exploring heartbreak, grief, shame, and drastic life changes through my printmaking, and I was thinking of these themes in relation to nature. I began to think of the grotesque ways in which some bugs like spiders and cicadas molt, leaving behind a shell of their former selves in order to move forward in life, and I thought about how one cannot overcome their own personal obstacles without facing a similar discomfort. As a result I married the grizzly visuals of molting with depictions of myself to portray this. The creation of this piece was also a pivotal moment in my practice as a printmaker, as it was my first ever multi-block color print.
