From 1995-1997 I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, Southern Africa. One of my first memories of settling into my lapeng (family compound) was my new little sister taking me outside and teaching me new Sesotho words. We became fast friends but didn't stay in contact after I returned to the US. However, years later when she found me on Facebook, we reconnected.

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A few years ago she got a job at Disney in Orlando, FL and fell in love with the ocean. When she saw my paintings she asked if she could commission one that combined her newfound love of the ocean with her homeland. I immediately agreed and started playing with some ideas. This is the one that worked--it is a conch shell surrounded by a Basotho Blanket (the observant viewer may recognize the blanket from the Black Panther movie). 

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As I painted this composition came to represent several things:

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(1) My sister's future adventures (symbolized by the seashell) wrapped in and supported by her past (symbolized by the Basotho blanket).

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2) Female energy (symbolized by the seashell) open, vulnerable and strong holding her own in the rough, tumultuous, confusing  seas of male energy (symbolized by the blanket). Together they are more beautiful than they are on their own. 

 

(3) my love for my sister (symbolized by the seashell) across the ocean (symbolized by the blanket) as we live on different continents. 

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No matter how you look at it, the painting is beautiful and full of love.

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