I painted this pre-made cup form at my 30th birthday party. I invited friends and family to meet at a pottery place and paint two pieces- one for themselves and one for them to keep for my use at their home. I used a toothbrush to flick paint on the outside and then dripped paint inside and tilted the cup to make patterns inside.
A day or two before I painted this piece, I had been praying and had seen a series of images of myself- intense struggle, suffering, persecution, and pain. I felt that I was being asked to accept my path. I said yes and commemorated the decision with this piece. My sense at the time was that the difficulties and struggle would be external, coming from other people in my current situation, but in the decade since, as everything has unfolded, it has been predominantly internal, intensely personal and unrelenting in a way a never imagined then.