I’ve always been a creative person but somehow motherhood has left little time for creativity. I mean you have to be creative to get your child to eat the right way, to behave the right way but that’s not the kind of creativity I was looking for. I wanted to do something for myself, so I started taking art classes. I knew I would enjoy taking the class but I never imagined just how much I would get out of it. Not only did I get in touch with my culture, most of the ladies I take class with are Persian. I also made amazing new friends. The class is therapeutic for me. We meet once a week for three hours. During the class we share stories of our lives, we talk about music and art. Sometimes we paint silently and just go into our own little world. Creating art helps me to express myself . The first few months of  class I only used paper and pencil. Just learning to sketch was incredible. .

I love creating faces. I don’t know why but I’m fascinated by the human face. I especially like to draw eyes.

I find myself sketching faces when I’m on the phone or if I’m just sitting around. I especially love looking at, and sketching eyes. There’s an old English proverb that states, “the eyes are the window to the soul.” It’s basically saying that by looking deeply into a person’s eyes, you can tell who they truly are on the inside.

I did this sketch a while ago. It’s got to be one of my favorites. After a couple of months I began to paint with acrylic. The feeling of filling a white canvas with vibrant color is spectacular! I get lost in my work. I put a lot of my emotions in it. It’s a completely freeing experience.  I just finished painted something for Mother’s Day. The painting is of a woman who has what seems to be a tree growing out of her face. Take some time to really look at the painting. How do you interpret it? How does it make you feel?

For me, it embodies all that a woman goes through in life. I see my mother. I see all the love, the struggles, the pain she experienced in her life. I see her deep rooted connections to her family. I see her strength and her perseverance. I almost feel the strong hold it has on me and on my daughter. Every branch, is a part of her experiences, every leaf is a new lesson, a spiritual growth. Her life is connected to her ancestors, her roots embedded deep inside her.