This piece depicts a girl with blue skin surrounded by an abstract background and freshly picked flowers from Red Lake. Many viewers have asked about the sadness in her eyes and the single tear slipping down her cheek. One viewer in particular wondered if I was feeling sorrow when I created it. I was exploring how emotion lives within a piece, and how it can be felt even when it isn’t autobiographical.

Her blue skin, reminiscent of water, became a central symbol. It represents not only sadness, but the essential nature of water for life and growth. That symbolism flows into the flowers, which bloom from the same lake where her tears fall. Her tear isn’t just sorrow but nourishment. It’s the water that helps the flowers grow. To me, this piece reflects the idea that sorrow and joy are not opposites, but deeply connected. Just as flowers need water, our brightest moments often carry the weight of emotion beneath them. Sadness, in its quiet way, helps us appreciate beauty. That’s what I hoped to convey in her expression—melancholy, yes, but also softness, reflection, and the potential for growth.