Half Step Away came from the feeling of being tugged between where I’ve come from and where I know I need to go. The small white houses represent the comfort of the familiar — the memories, routines, and old versions of myself that still feel like home. Behind them, the rising blocks of color symbolize the future pulling at me: bright, uncertain, full of possibilities I’m not fully ready to face. Each shape leans in a different direction, echoing the way my heart shifts between staying and moving forward. This painting is that in-between moment — the pause before change, the quiet ache of growing beyond a place you still care for, the feeling of being just one step away from the life that’s waiting.
By Candra Dewayanti (Shuri)










