The Red Lotus

(Sanskrit kamala and Tibetan padma or pundarika) Roots of a lotus are in the mud underneath the water; the stem grows up, and then the flower rests on the water in the sunlight. The pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul through the waters of experience and toward the sunshine of enlightenment. A fully bloomed lotus marks transcendence.

Red Lotus: This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.

Excerpted from: article by Nitin Kumar for Exotic India Arts

To the ancient Egyptians, a lotus bud or sesen was a symbol of rebirth. It closes in the evening and falls to the water, but in the morning it opens and is lifted above the surface.

It has also been named akin to the Rose of Sharon in the Song of Solomon.

But for Sharon, it means a great myriad of things, and I understand and respect that many will have their own interpretations and opinions.

The diversity of the lotus (across the spectrum of religions and faith) is my illustrative way to explain a woven hybridity of petals-- a mix, a "wok," -- my identity; my preservation and celebration of multiculturalism, multi-perspectives; the red lotus means soul, duende, my own faith. The art is my poem and story, and the red lotus flower is purposefully not in full bloom, not quite yet. The lotus flower also points to my back, which may or may not contain an pictorial poem of my roots (embodied by a cherry blossom tree - possibly my mum's and grandmother's initials on petals), reflecting where I came from (Mindanao on the right; Hawaiian islands on the left of the tree), where I am now, my gratitude.