Notes by Elisa´s portrait
The background shows a decorative spiral that winds around my beautiful daughter Elisa. The spiral represents the path leading from child to adult to old age. This symbol for growth, progression and development shows that Elisa is standing at the beginning of her lifecycle. As her mother I hope that Elisa will shape her own path and that many turns will expand outwardly as she grows older.
The decorative elements show influences of Art Nouveau and oriental art. I tried to capture her bright and frolic character into the elegant line work. In the decorative pattern there a two animals represented, a killer whale and a bird.The bird symbolizes the freedom I hope she will have to shape her own path and to make her own choices. The presence of the killer whale has two reasons:
First, at the age of two Elisa became fascinated by this sea-animal. As little as she was, she’d rather watch a documentary about orcas than a cartoon. Besides that, orcas are a symbol of family, protection and are regarded as a guardian of travel. Just as an orca has to navigate on his journey around the obstacles the ocean water presents, I hope that Elisa will have the same strength and perseverance as an orca to navigate around the obstacles she shall face in her life journey and that she´ll find ways to overcome them and accomplish her goals.