It all began with a black and white illustration of a group of robins. After a particularly difficult year of moving to a new city and learning to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings, robins became symbols of comfort, protection, and good fortune for me. Whenever I walked through the park, they seemed to stand almost at attention quiet, observant, and perceptive, as though they could sense my thoughts.

I wanted to honor them. What began as drawing them evolved into something more permanent and expressive: I began beading their forms and vibrant colors onto canvas, allowing their presence to become more tangible and alive.

As I selected the bead colors, I found myself thinking about the vivid still lifes of Vincent van Gogh and the way his swirling brushstrokes could transform something as ordinary as a cluster of grapes into a scene full of movement and vitality. That was how I see the robins. They stand still, but inside they carry an undeniable sense of life and energy.