This is my entry for the Ripped Off Show 2008. I partnered with Angela Gue, which has a very rich, fantasiful and diversified gallery. For this reason, I was in doubt between several works of her I liked a lot. Many between them show her interest for oriental cultures, which I share. I finally chose this piece both because I loved its colors and compositions, but also for its significance. I can relate very much to the woman she depicted. So I decided to mantain the color and composition elements (almost...my photo gives darker and duller colours than my original), while I added an element in the background (the shrine) which refers to my faith in the Lotus Sutra. The lotus flower is the only plant to fruit and flower simultaneously---that's why in the East it is considered the symbol for the universal law of Cause and Effect, which are present at the same time in the depths of one's life---and also the lotus flower emerges pure from the depths of the muddy swamp, symbolizing thus the potential manifestation of the pure uncorrupted Buddha Nature, inherent in all life. The tattoo on the girls body is for me there to significate how we ourselves, with our bodies of flesh and blood, are a Buddha illuminated in the infinite past. And as Angela's title "new beginnings" suggests and almost encourages to, we can in every moment "begin" to manifest our illuminated nature in our daily lives, to the benefit of ourselves and those we have around us. For this piece I used acrylics and gold leaf.