This piece is to benefit the mission of New Territory Magazine (bid now until October 21, 2023), a sublime publication that lifts up the lower Midwest. It started with love. In 2016, The New Territory launched as a longform print magazine for Lower Midwesterners who are hungry to understand the Great Plains and Ozarks. Their narrative journalism, creative writing, photography and art give readers a way to experience dynamic places, learn history through multiple lenses, think in metaphors, and hear personal stories of life’s challenges — in a distraction-free, beautifully designed, 128-page full color print format. They just relaunched as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

For Moon with Clouds, I wanted to offer a strong moon emblematic of the rugged American prairie below, a symbol of tenacity and grit, and a nod to the Kansas motto, Ad Astra per Aspera, to the stars through difficulties. To represent plains farming heritage, I chose the cotton canvas of a vintage grain sack found in a rural antique store. The painting is raw and sculptural, comprised of paint, stone, indentation of wheat, rust and the black ash of freshly burnt prairie sage hand-gathered in north central Kansas. I use organic materials to connect people to the spirit of the wild things of the prairie. Rust symbolizes that time is fleeting. Grain reminds us that small things, well tended, can grow into greatness. Prairie sage encapsulates the pure energy of a hundred suns and moons absorbed through the plant’s leaves and roots. Custom framed with reclaimed wood. (canvas 24×20 inch, 27×23 inch framed).