“I have always had a bit of a hard time connecting with my own femininity. The softness of being a woman always seemed distant to me. How strange it felt to grow up as a woman without an inherent notion of inner grace. Now, as I grow older, I feel like I am reintroducing myself to the idea of womanhood. This painting speaks to this transition: a nude female figure carrying flowers, gracefully riding a swan which I view as a symbol for the awakening of one’s own self and of balance, transformation, and grace. In Ancient Greece the swan represented the soul, and this painting represents the journey into a soft kind of an awakening.” - Antonia x