IN LAK’ECH was my second piece created for the Nevermind. collection, and like FIND ME, the only other piece not based on song lyrics. It was painted before I had an idea of where I wanted to go with my word art; I just knew that I wanted to explore turning words into art on canvas. The idea for this piece came from my spiritual mentor Francisco, who is a native healer – a Curandero – and has taught me so much about traditional native beliefs and practices. One day he said to me, “You must paint In Lak’Ech.” This was already a term familiar to me; much like Namaste in Eastern faiths, In Lak’Ech is a Mayan greeting that translates to something like, “I am another yourself.” The concept is that we are all connected, we are all one. I wish I had more insight as to how or why I painted the words exactly as they are on the canvas, why I chose the particular colors, or why I decided to turn a failed blue circle into an eye staring back at all of us ... why I creating a winding serpent along one side of the painting ... but the truth is, I have no idea. I speculate that it came from a place as ancient as the greeting itself, but of course I have no true knowledge of it. Not in my mind anyways, but perhaps my soul. The painting you see before you is as much of a surprise to me every single time I look at it as it might be to you. It’s turned out to be one of my favorites, but I’m not at all sure why.

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