Before I started creating radial art, I was drawn to portrait drawing. I was drawn to faces like Mother Teresa's, Nelson Mandela's, and others who seemed to carry something powerful in their expression. I also drew friends, strangers and anyone whose face held a feeling I couldn’t explain.

At the time, I didn’t fully understand why I was so focused on it. But now I see it was my way of learning to see - not just the surface, but what lived underneath. I wasn't just copying features but somehow merging with what I was seeing, dissolving the boundary between observer and observed. It was never about showing off a skill. It was about listening through my eyes and connecting to something deeper in each person.

In many ways, it prepared me for what I do now. The same quiet attention, the same sense of presence, the same dissolution of boundaries - just expressed differently through natural materials and patterns instead of pencil, paint, or watercolor.

Drawing faces was a path to feel closer to humanity and to uncover parts of myself I hadn’t yet met. Looking back, I can see it was always part of the same life long journey of learning different languages for the same essential conversation.