Campering life is to be out in nature recharging your soul appreciating the simple pleasures that life gives you. Make sure the paths you take in life have dirt, grass, rocks, and mud. The quote below speaks to me. Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth. By Walt Whitman.
This scene captivated my eyes as the hint of lime green sprouts just breaking the jet-black soil accompanied the Seeds Mother Nature planted earlier in the Spring.
Exhibition Date – December 9, 2021 – January 2, 2022
Reception Date December 9th – 6 pm
It was a well-visited exhibition. We had over 200 people during our artist reception and over the course of the month, we saw 273 people during regular business hours. With covid keeping people home, this was a great showing I think. We featured the work on our Instagram stories and posts, and those posts received collectively around 1k views.
December’s Changemakers issue of Minnesota Women’s press they did a write-up about my Empty Frame in Texas and how I chose to stand in solidarity with women’s right to choose. I couldn’t have done this without the support of Art to change the world members.
Heading south on Wisconsin’s highway 35 I explored the Driftless area (definition-having no aim or direction: free from glacial drift a section driftless except for loess deposits). Highway 35 winds along the Mississippi River following its path south. I made it to Alma and headed back north on county roads like I, KK, and 25 which snaked through the Driftless area hills and valleys. I explored this region capturing the farm life landscapes from corn crops to cattle grazing in the fields as my soul recharged from the stresses of my work week. I love to get lost on country roads and just absorb the scenery like a sponge.
Farming is not just for growing crops; it is for the cultivation… of human beings! – Masanobu Fukuoka. I admire those who choose the greater good and create nourishment for everyone to enjoy. In conclusion, I was humbled by all the hard work the farmer put into his field and blessed to be able to capture such a picturesque scene which reminded me of a Folk-art painting.
It is a creative process; we must first plant the seeds and nurture them along the way to ensure their full growth, as they will in turn provide us with nourishment, which is essential not just for survival but for success.
the image I have is Wishes or Weeds matted in black with a simple black frame
11×14 print matted to 16×20 frame
Artwork statement
This image reminded me of my childhood and every time I saw a Goatsbeard, I would pick it and make a wish. So, in this image, I see wishes and choose to hold on to my innocent belief that they are not weeds but wishes delivered to the Universe via a simple breeze. So next time you see a Dandelion, stop, pick the weed, and make your wish! Only true believers will see their wishes materialize!
ACW leader, Natalie Mcguire, submits her unique photography merging into her mosaic frameworks to galleries all over the country. The work, Bridge to Wonder, was accepted into the exhibition at the Arcadia Art Show in Tyler, Texas. When Texas passed the law denying the marginalized their reproductive freedom (the wealthy can travel across state lines), Natalie felt compelled to take action. She wrote to the curator of the exhibit that, respectfully, she could not send her art into a state which would support such a trampling of “the right to choose”. Much to her amazement, the curator of Arcadia Art Show, Dace Kidd, responded that she understood and asked if she could install her statement on a black background, framed, in the place her work would have been hung. This was an encouraging outcome, but then so what? Who is this punishing? ACW is going two steps further to help those who need reproductive services NOW.
ACW is also aware that a boycott of all things Texan punishes all Texans. If you would like to help the women currently in crisis, please send a donation to The Lilith Fund – supports the right of all Texans to make their own reproductive choices, regardless of income. https://www.lilithfund.org/donate