When my father had to undergo heart surgery, on the other side of the world as I was unable to travel due to the pandemic-related restrictions, I spent those long hours of worry and trepidation reflecting on consciousness, strength, transformation, rebirth. Where do we go when our consciousness is interrupted? Where are we in those moments when life is put on hold, we close our eyes to reopen them in what seems like an instant, transformed, changed, saved? Those hours of procedure that felt excruciatingly long for those who waited, passed like a blink of an eye for my father. And while his consciousness was nowhere, floating above him waiting to return and vivify his body, I connected to his essence - my love for him offering strength to his interrupted awareness. During those hours I painted "Birth Me Again When I Am Not Looking" - a hypothesis of the world beyond that we do not see, an imagination of the liminal space where we are and we are not, a summon back to life.

The piece is acrylics on canvas, 16x20.

My work connects to the inner Spiritual Battle that characterizes the human experience - regardless of faith, affiliation, background. Courage and fearlessness are the qualities that empower and embolden proactive action: it takes courage to stand up for those who are suffering, to care for those we love, as much as it does to entrust yourself in the care of others when we are helpless. It takes courage to let yourself be loved, as well. We find strength in ourselves and in others, in being in control as much as in relinquishing it. In this sense, my work is about the courage it takes to entrust yourself to the care and love of others, and the spiritual transformation that occurs in the process of letting go, and coming back empowered, emboldened, vivified by our choices, by the love and care of others, by our inner strength.