2024
acrylic on canvas
20 cm x 20 cm
I was welcomed through the gate of a small community garden in Budapest by a gentleman who told me he worked on the Chernobyl sarcophagus in 1986. After beating cancer and three heart attacks, he stays healthy (enough to travel and climb mountains!) by gardening: both for exercise and the abundance of natural healing herbs and flowers. He listened to my own health struggles as he pushed fists full of mint and lemon balm into my hands, and finally looked around for one last gift: a beautiful iris stem that he carefully clipped and gave to me with a smile.
I don't really paint unless I'm very inspired. This Ukrainian man and his garden, his story and his kindness, along with the beauty and color of the regal iris were truly inspiring. I titled it it "Ír(i)sz", a portmanteau of the Hungarian words for "iris" and "write," in tribute to the incredible stories of our lives and the way we write our words into others'.
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