RawanWelcome to ‘The Legacy Collection’
I am honored to introduce to you, The Legacy Collection, my newest series of watercolor paintings. This is a deeply personal body of work created to honor my family’s, as well as many families like mine, diaspora journey.
This collection features watercolor paintings inspired by the countries that shaped our lives. From Iraq to America, and all the places in between. Each painting represents more than a place. It represents the lives lived there. It represents sacrifice, survival, faith, and the courage to begin again.
Though these paintings showcase treasured national symbols intertwined within each country’s silhouette, this is not just a set of work inspired by countries, this is a memoir of lives lived in different parts of the world, brought together under one series.
The Legacy Collection is a visual record of immigrant families like mine and beyond, honoring their resilience, faith, and preserving generational legacy.
Why The Legacy Collection?
This is for my father
for all you sacrificed as a soldier, member of a Joint Tax Force, and as husband and father throughout your life as protector and leader.
For my mother,
You graciously put your trust in your husband to lead us to safety. And for your role as both mom and dad for almost all of our lives. It will never go unappreciated.
For my daughter Maya,
To help you understand where you come from, who your Jidu was, and how you can honor our culture, art, and contributions throughout your life.
And for all of my fellow immigrants,
for living between two worlds, never fitting into either, for being shamed, misunderstood, and for feeling like a piece of you is missing back home.
Why Now?
Whenever my dad would come home from being stationed overseas, I would ask him to tell me about his adventures. Mostly about the war in Iraq as he was a soldier on the front lines. I didn’t realize at the time how many times I asked him to recount the scariest, most dreadful parts of his life, as if they were scenes from a movie I wanted to watch again and again.
And yet, he told me.
Every time.
Whether it hurt him or not, he shared those memories with me. Somehow, he would tell even the deadliest, dirtiest parts of war and add a touch of humor. He had a gift for turning darkness into something light. He did that with almost every part of life. He taught me how to be serious about the opportunities God gives us, but easy going with the challenges, to learn from them, to laugh when we can, and to keep moving forward.
My favorite memories are of me sitting across from him at our kitchen table, listening to the life he had lived. Thinking, Wow. I can’t believe he survived all of that…and not only survived, but thrived.
I owe him and my mother my life.
I owe them Maya’s life.
They risked everything they knew to give us a life free from war, deprivation, and limits. They gave us life in America. The least I can give them is this collection.
I never got to officially record my father’s testimony and that is one of my greatest regrets.
So when my mother visited recently, I made sure to sit her down and record her story. Starting with our escape from Iraq, the places we stopped along the way, the lives we lived before we ever arrived here, all the way to our first Halloween in America (a funny story for another time).
She has shared our story with friends and church families, and they sit in awe of the life we had already lived before they knew us. Everyone — including me — has told her she should write a book. She loves to journal, but neither one of us are writers.
So instead, I will paint it.
I will paint our family’s story.
I will paint our legacy.
As I write this, I stubbled upon the song Adieux by Italian composer and pianist, Ludovico Einaudi. The title means “farewell” in French and the song represents a sweet memory from the past, a fading, dreamlike recollection.
My heart aches a little as it plays. It feels fitting. Everything is truly aligning just at the right time.
And then I discovered something that made me laugh a little: Ludovico and Maya share the same birth date! Sure, he is many years older, of course but once again – things are just aligning. Like confirmation that this is the right time for me to finally bring this collection to life.
The song playing as I write this.
The name of this collection finally revealing itself to me.
Finding my father’s photo tucked into my art journal today, quite literally cheersing to this!
Remembering why this all began — to honor my parents’ legacy, to preserve my own, and to pass it on to future generations.
The Legacy Collection
It gives me chills every time I say it.
It’s finally here. My family’s story.
I have always used my paintings with purpose and today, it’s to share the stories of our lives. The good, the bad, and the truth. This collection is no different, and yet it is so special to me at the same time.
Iraq | Jordan | Tunisia | Austria | USA | Spain | Qatar | Puerto Rico
This series of watercolor paintings will feature the countries throughout our journey including Iraq, Austria, America, and beyond.
Each painting will showcase treasured symbols.
Each blog post will tell the story behind it.
The Legacy Collection.
Now you know why I created it.
Next time, I will tell you all about the debut piece of this collection!
Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss the first drop of The Legacy Collection!
Interested in commissioning me to paint a country of your choice? Send me a note and let’s make a special one just for you!
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With love,
