Priya

I first met Priya Assal at a New Year’s Eve party in San Francisco, 2007. At the time, I noticed all this cool art on the wall but didn’t realize until months later when I was there (for another party), that she was the artist. It was that night that I really took a closer look at the paintings and started to notice some themes I hadn’t noticed before. Most of the paintings (around 20) hanging throughout the house were of powerful female characters. Each one was very unique and had a distinct “personality” but nearly all had one thing in common, one eye open and one eye closed. This intrigued me so I asked Priya about it. She didn’t reveal what it meant right then. Instead she took me upstairs and showed me a book of photos of other paintings she had made. She remained silent as I looked them over and commented on them. Days later I was still thinking about those paintings and the possible embedded meanings. I looked up her website and was blown away by additional work I hadn’t seen and the writings that accompanied each collection of paintings (which I highly recommend you visit and read yourself).

I would say this quote best represents Priya’s current path in life. And she is well on her way!

“The goddess archaetype is fully grounded in her Self and freely expresses her true nature. Her unshakable commitment to be remarkably great, is what gives her power to inspire others to be their fullest expression of themselves.”

Her openness about her desire as a woman to be in touch with her true self and to find the confidence and freedom to fully express who she is resonated deeply with me. To be who you truly are at all costs, I believe, is one of life’s biggest challenges. Thank God(dess) that there are people like Priya in this world to keep inspiring us to remain true.

Oh, and you’ll have to watch the video to find out what the one eye open, one eye shut represents! Enjoy!

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