My father and I share a love for the Jataí, a tiny stingless bee in Brazil. These native bees have stunted stingers. To defend themselves and to protect the hive, some of these indigenous species can bite, tangle in one's hair, invade noses, mouths, ears, and even cause burns.

Jeanne F. Jalandoni is a New York City-based artist, who works primarily with oil paint and textile. Her work explores visually defining bicultural identity through examining her Filipino heritage and experiences growing up as a 2nd generation American.

I was surprised when I saw Mami waiting for me in the living room. She wasn’t in her battle gear: the flowered housedress that states she is dressed to stay home. Instead, she wore her windbreaker and slacks. She was quiet—a little more so than usual. She wasn’t smiling, but she was ready.

Jalandoni’s preferred medium is oils, but she has recently branched out to working with textile and sculpture. Her imaginative, colorful paintings trace the exploration of her Filipino heritage and bicultural identity. She achieves this through portraiture and collaging flower motifs, while also acknowledging Filipino national symbols and “typical” found objects in a Filipino household.

Tyler was holed up in our bedroom the day after New Year’s with two glocks and seven boxes of ammo. It took a swat team and a laser aimed at his chest to get him out of the house.