Patricia Caspers
Portrait of Late-Discovery Adoptee as Californian
Portrait of Late-Discovery Adoptee as Californian: Flicker
Portrait of Late-Discovery Adoptee as Californian Mule Deer
Portrait of Late-Discovery Adoptee as Californian: No Hands Bridge
Portrait of Late-Discovery Adoptee as Californian Pelican
Portrait of Late-Discovery Adoptee as Californian Poison Oak
Artist Statement
When I was in seventh grade, my teacher gave me a D in art, partly because I didn’t finish my papier-mâché project, and partly, I think, because she was also my history teacher, and I was a terrible—and terribly depressed—student. I didn’t take another art class for 35 years. A few years ago, my artist friend Dana Ross encouraged me to take her watercolor class, Women Who Paint and Are Not Afraid. Participants are strongly discouraged from using erasers. Dana taught me to accept my art with all of its imperfections because perfection is boring. When I share my art now, I think of myself as modeling imperfection for others, so we can all be a little bit less hard on ourselves.
Artist Biography
Patricia Caspers is an award-winning writer and the founding EIC of West Trestle Review. She is the author of three full-length poetry collections: The Most Kissed Woman in the World and Some Flawed Magic (Kelsay Books, 2024 & 2021), and In the Belly of the Albatross (Glass Lyre Press, 2015). Her work has appeared widely in journals such as Ploughshares, Valparaiso, and Sugar House Review. Her art has appeared in SWWIM.