Ma-Eum

Ma-eum

Ma-eum is a Korean word that means heart, mind, feelings, and inner self all at once. Unlike English, where “heart” and “mind” are separate, ma-eum describes the place where our emotions, intentions, and truest self live together. When a friend asked me to create something inspired by the word heart, this was the image that immediately formed for me, a kind of exposed inner world, tender and full of meaning.

I filled the piece with flowers tied to love, devotion, and the emotional weight we carry: purple carnations for whimsy and admiration, pink carnations for a mother’s enduring love, cyclamen for the devoted heart, lily of the valley for motherhood, violets for thoughts occupied with love, star jasmine for loyalty and devotion, and roses for love in all its forms. These flowers bloom around and within the heart, reminding me how much beauty and vulnerability are intertwined.

Ma-eum is about the openness that love requires, how letting someone into your inner world is both a risk and a gift. It’s the way love exposes us, softens us, and reveals parts of ourselves we might otherwise keep hidden, and how precious that offering truly is.

Print Details

• Original artwork reproduced as a high-quality print
• Professionally printed on heavyweight 120 lb satin cardstock
• Smooth surface with a subtle satin sheen
• Bright white paper for vibrant color and detail
• Available in 10 x 10 
• Unframed
• Carefully packaged for protection