New York is a secular city with plenty of skepticism to go around. So how did a kid from Bushwick manage to break into the city’s visual bloodstream with a message half the city might ignore and the other half might question?

The answer lies in the story behind the tag—a life where the presence of God was not argued but experienced, especially in the darker turns.

Darilyn Carnes went to High School of Art and Design in Manhattan and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. She is world-renowed for her book designs and has won awards for her art. Her father, the late Joe Hing Lowe, is in the Hall of Fame of the Pastel Society of America.