Art has always inspired me, quietly shaping how I see move through the world even before I knew where this art journey would take me. One of my earliest inspirations was M.C. Escher, the Dutch artist whose work bends perception and reimagines reality. The first piece of his that I encountered, “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” (1935), blew my mind—its illusion and depth challenged me to look closer and think deeper. Escher’s “Relativity” (1953) took that challenge even further—its gravity-defying staircases creating a contained, yet infinite alternative world. 

But, it was Escher’s “Dewdrop” (1948) that resonated in a different way. He presented a single drop of water on a leaf—so simple, yet so profound. His interplay of water and earth inspired my creation: “Experimental Dewdrop”. 

Here, two fallen leaves emerge out of black walnut, their veins guided by the grain of the wood. The bold red circle is a focal point that serves as a reservoir for our seen and unseen emotions. Red, a color that holds multitudes: anger, passion, love, and everything in between. “Experimental Dewdrop” connects nature with emotion and transforms the simplicity of fallen leaves into a vessel for our own human complexities.