This artwork was one from an earlier collection where the naked body of a woman without a head gracefully stands tall and an unfurled rose bud sits in place of the head. The rose bud symbolizes the undeniable beauty we all hold in-spite of our self imposed doubts and sufferings. The work suggests that we ultimately blossom after all in our own time.

Melanie stopped by Astha's booth at an art fair, and was drawn in by the piece, (Un-named, The Essence of Being). Tears rolled down Melanie’s face, and after some time, she asked Astha “why she created what she had created.” This piece was made at one of the most vulnerable periods of time in Ashta's life. Astha dug deep into her strengths, found what kept her going, and connected with it at a very different level, finding peace and what made Astha the happiest. It wasn’t until finishing and selling this artwork that Astha knew she was an artist. It was the beginning of a new her.

Melanie related to this piece because she, too, was in the “same place.” Astha understood her pain, as it was her own, and that alone was everything. Astha felt so strongly for someone else who she had just met, an unexplainable feeling of trust and faith that things will work out for her as they did for Astha over time was very comforting.
(Un-named, The Essence of Being) echoes Astha's weaknesses and how Astha coped with them. The flower is suggestive of the bloom. Astha was not able to relate with herself, but knew she was a survivor. Every line that followed evolved from a connected thought and became a story as it metamorphosed into the unknown, showing that we are all made up of stories.