Title: RARE – Emerging Together

Artist: Dr. Margareta, Medical Advisor to TED Community 

Artist Statement: 

My piece is titled: “From the Storm, I Rise”

Created for Graves’ Disease Awareness Month, this therapeutic art piece, titled “Metamorphosis of the Butterfly Gland,” is a visual meditation on the thyroid’s complex journey from hyperactive chaos to a new state of being. I used a technique that is easy – and requires very little – paper and pen …. Thoughts and flowing through our hand – emotions turned into visual symbolism and imagery – deeply personal yet wishing to be shared … so all could in turn interpret it to their understanding. 

In describing it – you can see … In the center, a daisy (my name – Margarita – is a Daisy- but also a symbol for awareness and hope) blooms, but its heart is transformed into a wide, central eye. 

This all-seeing eye is both the consciousness – and the awareness of our health in self reflection- looking at the butterfly above – 

The “butterfly gland”, the thyroid, and the gaze of hyperthyroidism (Graves’ ophthalmopathy). 

Below it, a large pupa- harboring yet another butterfly in the making – while it is evolving from a caterpillar – you see another one below – just starting is metamorphosis. 

The pupa, stylized within a patterned paisley shape, represents the distinct, often silent sorrow and physical toll of the diagnosis and the required transformation awareness advocacy and fragility of transformation- (pulling from the quote: “just when the caterpillar thought it was dying it turned into a butterfly”) 

Around this axis, the cycle of the butterfly symbolizes the profound transformation a patient undergoes. 

At the bottom, a tiny caterpillar crawls, its patterned body representing the early, unknowing stages of the disease when symptoms can feel small yet consuming. 

Following the patterned trail up the left, the chrysalis hangs, a cocoon of introspection and treatment. 

Finally, the magnificent butterfly emerges, its wings heavily patterned with more “eyes”… symbols of heightened awareness, the constant vigilance of managing the condition, and the complex beauty of a new, post-diagnosis perspective. Also the multiple eyes show the distinct and individual presentation that is different for everyone …. 

The butterfly is a symbol of transformation and liberation from the peak of the struggle.

This entire ecosystem exists in a delicate balance. 

A powerful, watchful sun (an ocular-sun, another reference to the ‘thyroid stare’ and intense hyperactive energy) illuminates a patterned rainstorm, symbolizing the intense bursts of emotional and physiological “weather” characteristic of the disease. 

A trail of falling tears on the right emphasizes the burden of processing the change. And the sadness that comes with being ill, feeling different and being the receiver of stares and glares at our condition that does not define us. 

This artwork is a visual processing of the chaotic energy of Graves’, celebrating not just survival, but the complex transformation into a new form of strength and awareness. It is an expression of metamorphosis through the storm.

Key Elements of the Passage Explained:

1. The “Metamorphosis” Concept: The journey of the caterpillar (bottom-left, near the cloud) -> Chyrsalis (implied, or perhaps represented by the curved, wrapped tendril) -> Butterfly (top center). 

This mirrors the patient journey of feeling consumed, undergoing treatment/stagnation, and emerging transformed.

2. The Central Daisy Eye: In ⁠the zentangle, the central daisy has an unmistakable eye at its center. This is the perfect metaphor for the Graves’ ophthalmopathy (bulging eye) and the overall “stare” associated with hyperthyroidism, while still referencing the butterfly/thyroid shape.
3. The Teardrop: The large paisley-like droplet under the daisy is explicitly interpreted as a chrysalis- pupa-, adding emotional depth and the need to go into a transformative phase to come out emerging and healing. 
4. The Sun and Rain: The eye-like sun (top-left) radiating lines and the falling teardrops (right side) are directly visible and are framed as the internal “storm” of energy and emotion.
5. The “Eyes” on the Wings: The repeating concentric circles (eyes) in the butterfly’s wings are referenced as symbols of awareness and the lingering hyperthyroidism. And uniquely represent the multiple different presentations of the disease, highlights the unique and individualized yet different presentation for each one of us. 
6. The Patterns: The “eye” patterns also appear in the caterpillar and the large spiral tendril on the right. This ties the entire lifecycle together under a common theme of “heightened visual focus” or “constant observation.”