Each dot joins with thousands of other dots to

create the seeds of hope that I am painting.

Each dot forms the footsteps of the many

who survive against all odds in their search

for refuge, kindness, and support.

Each dot is the emphatic period that completes

the exclamation point at the end of this intention:

Together we can!

Each dot is a meditative chant, a daily mantra

that reaches beyond the four walls of my studio:

We are here. We are alive. We are the point from

which all begins. Everything is in process.

We are always in transition.

Each dot is a childhood memory, tapped onto

the surface of a hollowed out egg

as I work alongside my Ukrainian grandmother.

She is teaching me how to create stars of light

with dots of beeswax - dip, dot, dip dot dot dot.

I am 4 and learning about peace and love

and bright colorful dyes.