Enigma explained

True artists, I believe, do not create simply to be famous or wealthy.

They create because something inside them refuses to remain silent.

Through paint, melody,

movement, language, image or

any medium that calls to them,

they reach for something...

Something more than attention—

they reach to be understood.

These artists helped me feel

understood and I have carried them

with me all my life.

The ones who stand so clearly in my mind’s eye that their work feels less like performance and more like truth.

For a long time, I mistook the ache they awakened in me for envy.

It sat in the soup pot of my soul,

heavy and restless.

But eventually, I saw it for what it was:

ADMIRATION

A spark showing me that I too could begin building a foundation for my own creative voice.

To everyone who recognizes that truth, and to everyone who has helped

shape this journey

in ways both

seen and unseen,

I am grateful.