Backstory: On an emotional level A Tender Count(ing) is an abstract representation of my struggle through the darkness of the winter months in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve lived in the area most of my life and have found with the passing years that I suffer from more and more intense seasonal depression. Counting the days until they turn from shorter to longer, and finding a tender compassion with which to surround myself through the emotional struggle I find myself in. I wanted to visually represent the feeling of darkness, repetition, but also a soft texture that one could feel as a protective envelopment against the darkness and a steadfastness of intention to endure.