The inspiration for this painting is my daughter's work in Panama. She went there alone to take a job at the Smithsonian for one year. To deal with her loneliness from friends and family back in the US, she went to a small spa which had a mud bath. There, in the mud bath, although all the people were strangers to each other, they began to relate, talk, laugh, and joke with one another. These people, of very different shapes, sizes, ethnic backgrounds, and beliefs, came together in the mud bath and became friends. My daughter's year, which began so lonely, was transformed through a connection in the mud! I wanted to capture in my painting this moment of individuals coming together.