Fall on Your Knees, 2024
Oil on canvas 
20” x 16”

“Perhaps it is us who are the page, and our environment, travels, and those we come into contact with are the pen that inscribes us with information we then carry throughout our own story. As dandelions soar on the wind, sharing their beauty across the world with each seed carrying the blueprint of a wish, so is the objective of a journal in the recollection of an experience, and what's more - the experiences awaiting after the last page is turned.” - Quote from my personal travel journal.

    Gold shimmered from the frescos as the organ, crafted of 6,000 pipes, radiated throughout Pécs Cathedral. The scent of damp earth and incense filled my lungs and the saints gazed down upon me from above. As the holy water dried on my forehead, I cried. Centuries of prayer lingered in the air, a gentle breeze wisping ever so softly against my skin. Seated in the old, worn wooden pews, we listened as the tour guide addressed us: “Whether or not you're a believer, there is no denying that this is the house of God.”
   The summer of 2024 I was able to embark on a journey like no other as part of the Fullbright-Hays seminar program. My first time traveling abroad, a month immersed in the cultural and historical beauty of Hungary changed my life. Never did I imagine I would have such an opportunity. Rejoicing in the strongest belief of all, this memory of humility reflects and celebrates a powerful moment of gratitude. The geometric and floral patterns in this work not only honor the Cathedral, but the stunning motifs found throughout Hungarian architecture. Saint Stephen - the founding king of Hungary - gazes at the viewer as angels peer upon the scene below. Sitting just at the bottom of the apse are the words: “Krisztus által minden lehetséges” which roughly translates to and reminds us ‘Through Christ All Things Are Possible.’

What does it mean to be critically mindful of our lived experiences?


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