Hi everyone,
 

I hope you crossed over into 2025 feeling renewed. But if you didn’t, that’s okay—renewal doesn’t always come at the turn of a calendar. Sometimes, it finds us quietly in its own time. 

I began the year in the Middle East. I spent my days in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, soaking up new perspectives and connecting with the desert. 

Now back home, I'd like to share with you a transformative travelogue, a distillation of the insights I received in this sandy part of the world. 

Then, I'll invite you to a special workshop to put these insights into practice through the inspiring poetry of Mary Oliver. 
 

 

I started my journey in Doha, Qatar- a small peninsula jutting out into the Persian Gulf. 

 

What was before a pearling hamlet in the desert is now an oil tycoon, feeding the slick shiny development of the city, with some incredible architectural marvels.  

I arrived late at night and woke up to the entrancing Muslim prayers broadcasted from nearby mosques. These prayers felt strangely familiar, a hypnotic reminder of the sacred above the honking cars below. 

 

I walked outside to find women draped in elegant black Niqābs, covering everything but their eyes. It reminded me of the strangeness I felt when I first encountered orthodox Jewish men in Jerusalem, with their ringlets of hair, top hats, and braided ropes swaying from side to side. 

Yet look closely and you'll see they are just the same as us. Teens giggling and gossiping with each other in the mall. Sleep-deprived mothers struggling to harness their rowdy toddlers. 

It made me confront the dominant narratives about this culture planted through the news. It was refreshing to see the play, the humor, and the creativity poking through the shadows of geopolitics. 

 

This was also the first time when I learned about Islamic Art. There's a gorgeous museum situated on its wharf, showcasing the creative work of this faith from the centuries. 

Wandering through its dimly lit halls, I was struck by one defining feature: its intricacy. 

 

Stand before a wooden door, and you’ll find latticework so fine it seems as though every single millimeter has been considered, carved, and cherished. 

 

Stand before a mosque, and you’ll see geometric patterns cascading across its facade, like the unbroken whispers of prayer.

 

Stand before an old manuscript, and the pages bloom with the reverent touch of a brush—tiny, pinpricked flowers painted with an almost holy attention. 

It gave me this lesson: 

Devotion is in the details. 
 

 

 

We show our care through the details, the extra time and attention we put in to elevate the experience or craft beyond what's necessary. 

 

It's the handwritten note packed in a lunch bag. It's the toiletries lined up on the sink when you're a guest. It's the food plated beautifully, edges wiped clean with a cloth. 

It's that 3 millisecond gap in between shots that drives home a message. It's that rounded corner on a table. It's that single perfect word mopping up all the emotions on the page. 

When I saw the level of details gracing this art, I thought: what is love, if not found in the details? What is consideration, if not care for someone else's details? And what is consideration, but the highest form of love? 
 

And then I thought of you. Look at how many details grace your being. 

 

You weren't given just hands, but hands with whorls of fingerprints, tiny crescents on your nails, and slightly raised soft fingerpads. 

You weren't just given eyes, but eyes with multicolored irises rippling out like cosmic storms, salty tears, and delicate eyelashes to frame it all. 

You weren't just given a backbone, but a gracefully curved spine, honeycombed vertebrae, and spongy discs precisely cut for seamless movement. 

Some force created you with astonishing care, lingering with the fine brush of creation. As though love itself sat at a table, bent over you, adding line upon line, detail upon detail, whispering: This one is precious. This one matters.
 

You are the masterpiece of a divine artisan, whose devotion is evident in every fold, every curve, every intricate detail that makes you, you. 
 

So, the next time you doubt your worth, the next time you feel small or unseen, remember this: some force poured over you with extra care and reverence. You are, in every sense, an exquisite work of art.
 

What is love, if not the details?
And what are you, if not love itself, made visible? 
 

Wishing you all a beautiful canvas for 2025,
Dandan 

 

www.dandanliustudio.com