A piece to honor the moon cycles at St Brigid’s Day – the half way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox – and the traditional start of a new agricultural year. For centuries, those in-tune to the land have cast their eyes to the changing moon to forecast auspicious days for sowing and […]
Category: Fresh off the easel
Smoky Hill Sandbar
Nature shows us how to navigate change in the shifting sandbars of a river. Sediment allows waters to shape it into new beings without resistance. This piece is my expression of the Smoky Hill an her sandbars, a slow river that meanders through some of the prettiest parts of the American High Plains. It has […]
Now, is the Season to Plant
One of my favorite sayings attributed to Martin Luther is even if I knew that tomorrow the world would end, I would still plant my apple tree. What a lovely affirmation in uncertain times, for it draws us toward the innate goodness of things. My rendition of a garden patch invites you to consider what […]
A Reminder All Shall Be Well
In the midst of life’s curious and sometimes harsh ways, I turn to English anchoress Julian of Norwich who said, “All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well.” To me, the cross symbolizes faith but also a visual reminder of the path we walk, often finding ourselves […]
Moon of the Kindred Spirits
Symbolizing unifying ties to the natural world and friendship with the elements, it is created with stone, grain, rust, prairie plant ash and paint. It celebrates the time the natural world puts away winter’s mantle, and steps from solace and quiet into light. The plant and animal spirits are gathering in community for a new […]
Moon of the Wise Woman
I call this painting Moon of the Wise Woman because it honors the last full moon of winter, the end of the dark season of the year. I painted it in the days leading to the full moon of March 2020, a super moon full of promise and an invitation to put into action what […]
They Promised Her the Moon at McPherson College
A piece for the upcoming McPherson College show celebrating the women’s suffragette movement. It’s called They Promised Her the Moon. Inspired by my great grandmothers, who like many women, left home and journeyed West toward a new life. By day, women walk diverse paths, but at night we gaze at a common moon. A shared time […]
Moon Before Yule
This celestial piece honors the Moon Before Yule, the Anglo-Saxon name for the full moon that occurs close to the ancient winter solstice celebration. My rendition holds the spirit of the long night. It is made of hand-laid stone texture embedded with organic corn to symbolize plenty and painted with acrylic and iron oxidized to […]
Moonrise Over a Limestone Field
A nod to limestone fence posts that dot the prairie land, built by pioneers because there were no trees. The canvas is 1930s Depression Era flour sack found in a rural antique store. I used hand-ground Kansas slate, sandstone and burnt wild sage to depict the rugged fields, leaving the sack logo as a full […]
Toward a Simple Life
If you ever wanted to live a simple life, try living on the prairie. The vast plain shows us we are but a small part of something larger. Here it is quiet and sublime, with a great canopy above and dark soil below. The prairie’s void draws you toward the earth, an invitation to root […]
