AOIFE KEEFE GREW UP IN A LARGE GREEN HOUSE IN ROSLINDALE. SHE WAS AFRAID OF THE DINING ROOM, REFUSED TO EAT CHICKEN, AND LOOKED UP TO HER FRAMED OIL PASTEL DRAWING OF A VASE IN HER KITCHEN EVERY NOW AND THEN. HER FATHER WAS AN ARTIST ONCE UPON A TIME, BUT LEFT IT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE. IN THAT HOUSE, SHE WANTED TO BE THREE THINGS IN THE WORLD: A MERMAID, A VETERINARIAN, AND AN ARTIST. 

EVERY MORNING, FOR THE PAST TWELVE YEARS, AOIFE HAS BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO HER ART CLASS OF THE DAY. SHE’S DOODLING ON THINGS SHE SHOULD NOT DOODLE ON, WRITING WORDS IN HER SKETCHBOOK THAT SHE SHOULD NOT BE WRITING, AND MAKING RISKY ART MOVES AT THE LAST MINUTE THAT SHE (ARGUABLY) SHOULD NOT MAKE. SHE HAS NEVER TAKEN ART TOO SERIOUSLY, BUT IS SERIOUS ABOUT HER HATRED OF ARTIST STATEMENTS, AND BOUNDARIES OR BOXES IMPOSED ON HERSELF OR HER ART. AOIFE WORKS ON IMPULSE, AESTHETIC, AND WHATEVER ELSE SHE WANTS THAT DAY. WHY TAKE SOMETHING SO NATURAL AND FORCE IT TO BE MEANINGFUL?