Her art studio has a wooden floor, same as the one you might have in your own dining room. She stands there tall and proud behind her paintings, long flowy blond hair reaching past her shoulders. Her dress a deep blue, her legs bare, her sandals yellow with three bows each, her nails painted brown. Most striking of all are her soft brown eyes that stare straight at you with pride, and her smile that speaks of confidence.

Eight paintings are propped up against easels in her studio for viewing. Suri stands in the center, her arms outstretched over the two closest to her. The painting on her left is of a tiger, submerged halfway in river waters, which reflect its orange and brown skin. The one on her right is of two scholarly Rabbis studying carrots at a vegetable stand, no doubt to perform some form of goodness for the world with those tubers.

On the far right is a painting of a gray elephant with gigantic ears and feet that seem to be charging right at you as you dare to glance in its direction. Beneath that, a painting depicts a young man entering a synagogue with an air of mystery about it, as it is bathed in light as well as shadows. To the left, is a painting of a youngster walking on the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem towards an unknown destination. On the far left, a young girl with a decision to make stands in front of many bins of flowers in an outdoor market. Above that painting, the tiger, and above the tiger, a wooded scene with a middle path, bright blue sky, and trees reaching over both sides of the path with an intention to meet.  Finally, in the middle is another wooded scene with tall brown trees of many green leaves growing from its branches.

The interposition of religious scenes and those of nature was most likely intentional. Suri’s faith is as rock solid as the trees she paints, the elephant she creates, and the tiger she conjures up onto canvas. Throughout the time I have known her, Suri has experienced loss in the family, but continues to pick up her paintbrush each day and produce the masterpieces described, and more. She speaks passionately of her work, her family, her dreams, and her plans for a better future. Her gallery is replete with paintings that speak of love, grief, hope, and unity.

Most recently, Suri painted a scene at the Western Wall in Jerusalem showing Jewish children of various backgrounds, abilities, and color. This painting speaks of the unity that Suri aims to portray in so many of her paintings and her hope that her viewers will incorporate this type of unity into their everyday lives. I believe that she chose the location of her painting to indicate how prayer can help the world achieve that goal. 

Suri’s paintings are a testimony to her tall and proud bearing, her confidence in her ability to relay positive messages to the world through the strokes of her brush, and her silent cry to the world to embrace positive changes; faith, love, unity, respect, and hope.

*This is the first assignment that I wrote for the course I am taking at the Institute for Writers. Suri is a talented and passionate artist, and I am honored to have her as a friend. This is the link to her website;