My artwork is typically created through a stream of consciousness process, without an immense amount of planning at hand. For this larger-scale painting of mine, I had an idea, and I ran with it, creating a world that crosses over between qualities of fantasy and the otherworldly, subtly representing my mental health journey over the past six years. I’ve created several paintings in the past which consist of unearthly qualities and creatures. This painting represents the transition from a dead, withered, and soul-leeching environment, to a transcendental state of mind. Inside the protective veil which separates the two worlds, you find a completely different environment which consists of several flourishing organisms. The membrane separates the dark and withered from the fruitful, lush, and utopian mental environment it has taken me years to grow and personally arrive at.

Celina Jarrah, of 100% Syrian descent, was born in 2001 and raised in Pennsylvania. She grew up having a unique Syrian American experience and is a first-generation college student. She attends Moravian University, currently completing a Major in Health Sciences, and has completed all her credits for a minor in art. Growing up, she was always drawn to anything that involves creating and enjoys many forms of art, primarily painting. She creates using several mediums, though in the past year she has created using primarily oil paints on canvas and on different surfaces. She is inspired by stream of consciousness painting, extracting subject matter from her thoughts and emotions regarding her experience in the world. She creates depictions of her sentiments, visions, and dreams and presents them in the sense of the otherworldly.