After a year of having nearly all art activities canceled, I was really excited to have a reason to get back to work during the first month of 2021. The Beyond Words invitational group exhibit at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community was originally scheduled for mid-summer of 2020, but the pandemic pushed it back to this month. When we were notified the exhibit was postponed until January of 2021, it felt like such a far-off time that was hard to even comprehend, and then as Covid numbers soared, I think I just made the assumption it was going to be postponed a second time. However, the curator, a phenomenal artist and former classmate of mine, Ashley Sauder Miller found a way to make it happen - by transporting and hanging all of the artwork herself and creating a virtual experience, as the exhibit is closed to all but residents and staff of VMRC.
The Beyond Words exhibit is “a contemporary online art exhibit on grief, hope and the resurrected life” (quoted from the program). Artists were assigned scripture verses related to grief to inspire their work. My piece is based on Psalm 121.
View the exhibit program here and the virtual gallery featuring 23 artists from across the country here.
To the Mountains
36” x 48” | fabric and acrylic on canvas | $450
Artist Statement
Following the death of my oldest sister twenty years ago, I distinctly remember feeling trapped indoors. I would spend hours taking drives into the mountains, wandering through parks and cemeteries, and eventually discovered a love of hiking the many trails in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. I feel the most spiritually grounded when spending time in nature and breathe a little easier in the forest or on top of a mountain. I owe so much of the healing I have experienced in my grief journey to the natural world and am profoundly grateful for the access I have had to wander freely, a privilege I know is not shared by all. There is something about being alone outdoors that simultaneously reminds me of my insignificance in the greater world and my interdependence with its resources and the rest of humanity. This dichotomy deeply resonates with me and feels like home.
Scriptural Reference: Psalm 121 (NIV) - A song of ascents
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.