When I first began this painting, it was going to be a straightforward trompe l’oeil with the frame, box, apple, and tissue paper. When I had made a good bit of progress on the subjects, I was struck with this strong desire to add a snake. I questioned myself about whether or not I should do it because of how it would dramatically change the message of the painting, but in the end, that voice that comes from deep within and feels like divine inspiration always wins.

I had been thinking a lot lately about how I want to raise my son spiritually and the best way I can manage to give him religious structure and teach him to be a good person. I don't believe that there is one perfect religion. I was raised Catholic. It is a result of where I was born and what family I was born into. I would likely have been Hindu had I been born in India or Buddhist had I been born in Thailand. I started to struggle with Catholicism when I became aware of how a lot of Catholics preach against and treat members of the LGBTQ+ community unkindly. Religion has always been an excuse for humans to exercise superiority over another group of people and to be the cruelest of cruel. Perhaps I have been hyper aware of it since becoming a mother, but it seems to me as if I have witnessed more unkindness and cruelty in the name of religion within the U.S. over the past few years. Religion can be a really wonderful thing that guides your spiritual beliefs and morals, but if you are not careful, you can also lose your way and end up being the very thing you preach against. At the end of the day, we are all human despite race, religions, gender, sexual preferences, and political beliefs. We are all deserving of love, and to me, love is the greatest religion there is.