There is power, beauty, and grandeur in a hurricane, as well as helplessness, destruction, and loss. I wanted to convey these things in Hurricane Ike. The hurricane was the greatest natural disaster in the history of Texas, and here in The Woodlands we experienced about eight hours of 90 mph winds, lightning, thunder, hail, and torrents of rain. Streets were flooded. We watched high winds bend huge trees to the ground.

We lost three old growth trees. Luckily, they fell away from our home, and damage was minimal. Still, it was one of the most frightening experiences in my life. Being without electricity and telephones for days, plus the constant reports of hardship and the loss of human lives and property -- particularly in Galveston -- created a nerve-shattering experience. For whatever reasons, this was an event that I had to work out in my art