Meet Sara Shakeel, The Original Crystal Artist

Stretch marks are a totally normal part of life, but they are often the subject of shame or embarrassment. Instead of viewing stretch marks as something negative or worth hiding, one artist is showing how beautiful they really are.

Pakistani artist Sara Shakeel transforms photos of stretch marks into beautiful, shiny artwork by highlighting them — not hiding them — with glitter. In a recent Instagram post, Sara said making stretch marks into art has been so empowering, despite societal standards that tell her they aren’t something to be proud of.

“I have never felt so powerful & liberated and so f*cking proud of my stretch marks in my entire life !!!” Sara wrote on Instagram. “From where I come from & live, to be on the chubby side or to even talk about stretch marks is not something one is proud of, I have seen my stretch marks grow from the day I started putting on weight, I’d be honest even before uploading it I was thinking why would anyone be interested in my concept of stretch marks turned into glitter or crystals!!! My god I was so wrong!”

More: Instagram h/t: teenvogue