The cover image, “A Moment of Silence,” evokes that precise moment of calm that emerges amidst the chaos of water crashing against the rocks. More than a collision, the work captures a fleeting, invaluable, and unrepeatable moment of peace, whose transience does not diminish its character. It also reminds us that the solidity of the rock is actually constantly formed and transformed by the unrelenting chisel of the waves. 

The author of this work, Natalia Isaza Brando, is a pediatrician specializing in neonatology in Washington, D.C., USA, affiliated with Children’s National Hospital and George Washington University Hospital, and serves as an adjunct professor of pediatrics. Although her interest in painting manifested during high school, her scientific career and dedication to researching the short- and long-term impact of maternal depression on the mother-child bond led to a pause in her artistic production, a practice she later resumed during a difficult personal moment, transforming it into a tool for healing and a refuge. Natalia believes that in her daily work, where she constantly encounters the fragility of life and death in the intensive care unit, artistic creation serves as a vital force to channel emotions, manage stress, and provide necessary introspection in the face of external chaos.

https://doi.org/10.53556/0w4v4j42