The power of creation is the ultimate Master in a Minute®. Think about a sunflower. The power of creation designed and grew sunflowers for millions of years before a seed buried in the soil of my garden blossomed into a ten-foot tall, thick-stemmed plant that produced magnificent wide flower heads, which I then drew in my workshop while snacking on roasted sunflower seeds.

In general, sunflower seeds are processed for cooking oil and the hulls and cake (what is left after the seeds are gone) are used in livestock feed. In traditional Native American culture, sunflowers were used for practical purposes in bread, as medical creams, as a dye and for body painting, and the root was made into a poultice applied to rattlesnake bites! Sunflowers were incorporated in their ceremonies and rituals to bring good luck and to ward off evil spirits.

Today, the sunflower is a symbol of Ukraine, which is known for its production of sunflower oil. During the Ukrainian-Russian war, a video showed a Russian soldier being confronted by a Ukrainian woman, who told him to "take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here."1 The sunflower has thus become a symbol around the world of resistance, unity, and hope. 2

In Greek mythology, the sunflower was believed to follow the sun god Apollo as he traveled across the sky. Young sunflowers (but not fully grown ones) do indeed follow the sun from east to west throughout the day, known as heliotropic motion. This is a circadian rhythm that is regulated by the sunflower's response to blue light coming from the sun. We are going to be talking a lot about light in the Master in a Minute® series—light that is vitally important to the growth of living things, the light and shadow of the artistic realm, and the light that is the energetic force of spiritual awakening within.

To the Incas, sunflowers were a symbol of the Sun. To Christians, they are related to the divine light of God since they look like the sun, and they are mentioned in Bible verses as symbols of beauty, faith, trust, and growth. In some Eastern religions, like Buddhism, sunflowers represent the human desire to turn towards the light, called the quest for enlightenment. Just as sunflowers turn their faces towards the sun, we can turn to the light of the divine and trust in our spiritual growth.

Raptor Desc

The creative force of the universe is the supreme master designer. The same creative force that designed the sunflower also designed our eyes to see its beauty and my desire to share it with you. Unlike the images in computer-generated coloring books, my original drawings and paintings comprise the Master in a Minute® series—in other words, living art populates this book. Here, you are sharing my minute-by- minute experience of the Master of Creation. As always, I hope that my work inspires your soul and reminds you to seek out the light in your life.

You might consider doing a short meditation on each page before beginning to color. Does the image resonate inside you? Color the sunflowers to reflect your own positivity and joy, loyalty and devotion, growth and resilience, all of which have been attributed to sunflowers.

As you channel your inner artist, relax. Enjoy the journey as you come face-to-face with the beaming sunflowers. Let your emotions color your experience. In a bright shining mood, the sunflowers may be a golden yellow. In a more contemplative state of mind, the sunflowers may reflect the blue of your inner sky. There is no right or wrong way to color. Just as the master artist Picasso looked at a woman and saw geometric facets and planes, thus creating the art genre of Cubism, you too can harness your imagination to bring your personality and spirit to the flowers I drew. Or you may find that coloring—inside or outside the lines—brings you a simple joy.

May your encounter with sunflowers help you to become a Master in a Minute®.