During a women’s yoga and healing retreat in Mendocino, we greeted each morning by calling in the directions. Facing the South—the place of fire—we spoke about the heat that begins low in the belly, rising through the body like a torch for joy, spirit. and a sense of your own power.

Looking out over the field, I saw a young child in the distance, running between a tiny house and a weathered barn—spinning, laughing, utterly free. Beyond them, their father lit a brush pile, and a sudden column of flame leapt toward the sky.

Something about those two moments—pure joy and sudden fire—hit me. It felt my own inner spark waking up again, rising through my chest and reminding me of the freedom, and passion we all carry… and how it’s meant to be shared.

The inspiration followed me home. I entered the studio, took up my brushes, and this painting poured out—full of heat, memory, and the fire in the belly that called itself forward.