Words have never worked for Mae Cooke, never have been enough. When they are asked to put their thoughts to words, it’s like trying to bottle a hurricane. They feel emotions like explosions of grief and joy under their skin. The only language that can express what they experience is art. Cooke is a multidisciplinary artist and harpist, using every tool that surrounds them to express what they need to. Their emotions become the catalyst for their creativity; their art becomes their expression, whether that is making detailed realism in charcoal, surreal sculptures crawling out of a canvas, or frantic graphite sketches on whatever paper is around. Sometimes their work is made for everyone to view and be moved by, and other times their art just for them to understand themself a little bit better. Cooke’s work is the most integral part of the way they understand the world and themself, The art becoming the words they use to communicate what goes on in their head.