Wednesday, May 13, 2009

lotus seed



"lotus seed"
acrylic & digital
2009

"life is the foremost of all treasures. it is expounded that even the treasures of the entire major world system cannot equal the value of one's body and life. even the treasures that fill the major world system are no substitute for life."~nichiren daishonin

"lotus seed", an original acrylic painting and design, here. 人間革命 stands for human revolution in chinese characters.

i decided to design this piece from the painting. this was decided as a series from my "fortune baby". as i mentioned last week, here, that this was painted and designed from a personal experience. what do i do that isn't personal?!

so the story goes...
i was diagnoised with i.c.p. when i was pregnant with little c in 2006. i.c.p is known as "obstetric cholestasis (oc), refers to a specific liver condition in which the normal flow of bile is impaired in a woman's body resulting in itching that can vary in severity and type. the itching can be bothersome to severe itching and is often worse at night. there is rarely jaundice when suffering with i.c.p. although i.c.p. has been reported as early as a few weeks pregnant, it is more common for it to begin in the third trimester, when hormone concentrations are at their highest levels. the figure for the percentage of women for whom i.c.p. will recur in future pregnancies is still somewhat debated, but some sources claim it to be as high as 90%. i.c.p. is also referred to as cholestasis of pregnancy and pruritus gravidarum." for more info, here.

simply put, my obgyn informed me that with i.c.p. i had to be monitored weekly because of this disorder. otherwise, my little c could just stop breathing. what great news huh! i remember, due to i.c.p. i also had problems eating regularly, i couldn't eat normally, what a pregnant woman was suppose to. it was pretty tough and scary.

however, as a practitioner of nichiren buddhsim, we believe that "a fortune baby is born to a woman who practices buddhism while the child is in the womb. it is thought that through practicing buddhism while pregnant, your child will inevitably inherit the good fortune accumulated by actively participating in your faith by chanting..." for more info, here.

thus, the only thing i was able to do was to keep my faith and did my best to bring this fortune baby into this world, safely. and i did. he's a little fortune kid, full of life and energy, i almost forgot what i went through to bring him into this world!

so, with original photography and painting, my concept is to show that with courage as a mother, within me, i carried my unborn who is protected by the lotus flower. from my deep convictions, as a practitioner of nichiren buddhsim, i believed with my soul he was protected in a mystic way. "it is like the lotus seed, which contains both blossom and fruit. "~nichiren diashonin. my little c has now blossomed and became a little man! :)


14 x 18 canvas board
acrylic
2009

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