In 2010, at the end of a daily deep meditation session near the picture windows of my third-floor apartment, I invited extraterrestrials to contact me, and I asked for a sign in the sky. Immediately, a telepathic voice directed me to the window. Many low, dark clouds passed in the strong wind, except for one motionless cloud suspended in place.

It appeared as a giant bulging eye sculpted at a perfect three-quarter view (artistic phrase). I broke my frozen stare to grab my camcorder. After a few seconds of fumbling and focusing, a telepathic influence compelled me to turn off the camera and put it down. When I complied, the eye image began morphing into an animated spiral shape.

Then, gradually increasing speed, it twisted tightly to one side and then the same in the opposite direction. Suddenly, the spiral exploded into smaller pieces, dissolving into the air. I was stunned by what happened, but the experience was oddly comforting and reassuring. The encounter remains etched in my mind and inspires me in many ways.

2009, I exhibited my original Zebroid paintings at the Fourteenth Annual Philadelphia Black Art Expo. Diverse people, including celebrities like James Cameron, the acclaimed filmmaker of the epic science fiction movie Avatar, attended that event. My peers distinguished my work as “The Future” in its approach.

When James Cameron visited my exhibition booth, he expressed appreciation and proclaimed, “This is just too good. You’ll see this again. It’s just too good!” In 2009, he fulfilled his ominous prediction with the release of the first Avatar movie, in which the Navi, tribal extraterrestrial humanoids, appear with zebra-like patterns on their vibrant blue skin.