In "Compass to Canaan +001", shimmering fields of blue and gold crackle across the canvas like an aerial view of an ancient, mythic world—glorious, yet scarred. At the heart of this fractured beauty lies a delicate bird, pinned against the backdrop like a relic or sacrifice. Its presence delivers a jarring emotional rupture, disrupting the ethereal terrain with a sudden, painful truth. This work confronts the fragility of life in a world that often values beauty over being. The bird—once a symbol of freedom, grace, and spirit—now lies still, invoking themes of environmental loss, spiritual abandonment, or the silencing of the innocent. Through the interplay of precious textures and brutal realism, Mikal's work becomes both a lament and a mirror—an invitation to contemplate the cost of neglect and the sacredness of all living things.