Artists & Artwork

Learn about the artists and artwork and the literature that inspired them. 

Books spark imagination, stir emotion, and transport us to new worlds—artists bring those worlds to life!

Art of the Story features artists from around the country exploring the connection between literature and the visual arts. This exhibition challenged artists to select a fiction or nonfiction book (poem or other literature was also accepted) that moved them and to create artworks in any medium that visually interpreted, were inspired by, or responded to its pages.

Juried by Katie Rothley, Marketing & Public Relations Librarian at the Northville District Library, this exhibition celebrates the magic of storytelling and the creative journeys it inspires. 

We welcome you to share and submit a comment on the exhibition at the bottom.

Nothing gold can stay by Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Matho’s Message by Lois Red Elk

It happens when the sun shifts angles,
or when the earth warms to a waking degree,
and energies switch from sleep to sun view,
And it happens when the lesser gods remember
their honoring of place in universe and spin,
time to translate wisdom into being. Now all
language must be united for the *Matho nation
to address the four directions, all *wamakashka,
all races of man, all ages, the wind, the earth,
sun and universe. This is how this ceremony
begins. These lesser Gods, so powerful to take
up the gathering bag, to teach on two legs, to
stretch all minds where plants and roots open
space to welcome and celebrate all medicines.
Mahto stands with knowledge and extends the
claws for all to take a sample of earth, inhale
the warmth and let the growth overtake your
hunger. It is the moment to remember roots,
ancient in DNA and roots that connect the
leaf and flower. We are asked to remember
those ancestors of the land where culture
taught all to connect, where Mother Mahto
and Mother Earth held hands for your life,
and all who take from the female. This is
Mahto’s request when ice leaves, when all
caves inhale, when thunders begin to speak.

©Lois Red Elk

* Mahto – Bear
* Wamakashka – Beings of the earth (animals)

Danna Bowersox - Northville, MI

The Assembly Line, acrylic on canvas, fabrication of found metal objects, 17 x 21

Reference: Rivet Head: Tales from the Assembly Line by Ben Hamper

Biography of a man and his experiences working on the line in the Flint Auto Factory and how working in the auto manufacturing business affects people.

Norman Carr - Wichita, KS

Facsimile of a Post Card (Sent After Returning to a Place I’ve Never Been Before) watercolor on paper 11 ¾ x 16 ¾

Reference: Complete Poems 1904-1962 / E. E. Cummings; George James Firmage, editor

In one untitled poem Cummings advises, “The trick of finding what you didn’t lose” is “arriving at the place you never left.” In another poem, he laments “i cannot touch because they are too near.”

Inspired by Cummings’ paradoxical stanzas, my title “Facsimile…” is my attempt at "the painter becoming the poet." I have turned inside out the past, the present, and the future. Critics and the viewers of this watercolor must bring their fresh perspective to this landscape. I have provided no maps."

 The trick of finding what you didn’t lose by E. E. Cummings

the trick of finding what you didn’t lose
(existing’s tricky:but to live’s a gift)
the teachable imposture of always
arriving at the place you never left

(and i refer to thinking) rests upon
a dismal misconception; namely that
some neither ape nor angel called a man
is measured by his quote eye cue unquote.

Much better than which, every woman who’s
(despite the ultramachinations of
some loveless infraworld) a woman knows;
and certain men quite possibly may have 

shall we say guessed? ”we shall” quoth gifted she:
and played the hostess to my more than me

Somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond by E. E. Cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

Alisa Clark - South Lyon, MI

No Desserts Ever, assemblage sculpture, found objects, altered book, 19 x 12 x 12

Reference: The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey

This piece is inspired by the bedtime ritual of reading The Poky Little Puppy to my children. Each time the puppies dug under the fence, my kids would urgently warn them not to do it—hoping they would all get dessert. Sometimes none of the puppies did, and that twist only deepened their investment in the story.

What moved me most was their belief that their voices might change the outcome. This assemblage recreates that playful world of fences, consequences, and sweet rewards, while preserving the laughter and anticipation we shared.

The work honors not just the book, but the joy of reading aloud and the small family moments that quietly become lasting memories.

Terence Cover - Ferndale MI

Gumbenstein, digital photography on photo paper, 11x14

Reference: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein is my favorite of the classic Victorian horror novels and seemed like a perfect fit for my Gumby series. Especially once I found a Gumby figure in a doctor's outfit. The electricity reviving the monster may be solely from the films but its such an iconic element of the story nowadays, I had to build the photo around it and the swapped brain concept. It just felt right for a Gumby version.

Pamela Day - Wixom, MI

Rumpelstiltskin, oxide-stained clay, colored pencil, gouache; fabricated background, 29 x 20 x 7”

Reference: Rumpelstiltskin by Brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm)           

Rumpelstiltskin, a clay figurative sculpture, is placed in dimensionally fabricate piece – diorama-like painted space, that has him in the woods jumping and dancing about a fire as he reveals ‘name’ out-loud in song: 

"Today I brew, tomorrow I bake,
And then the child away I’ll take;
For little deems my royal dame,
That Rumpelstiltskin is my name!"

Painted into the wooded background is the character the Queen sent to find out this information, thus saving her baby from be taken as originally promised to Rumpel as payment for spinning straw into gold to insure her to be married to the King.  The background and floor of the piece have clay pieces included to add dimensionality to the scene. The piece is mounted to install on the wall.

Timnah Dockery - Ypsilanti, MI

Seeing Red Knit, cotton thread, wood, porcelain, glass, moss, foam, fur yarn, wicker, 9" x 8.5" x 4.5"

Reference: Little Red Riding Hood by Brothers Grimm (Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm)

When my nephew was 2 years old, he was constantly worried about the big bad wolf--he would wake up out of a sound sleep saying, "Big bad wolf gonna get me!". I love miniature clothing items that tell a story, so knitting Little Red Riding Hood's cape felt to me like a perfect blend: something I love that would constantly remind me of someone I love.

The Tulips Puckered Up from Poetry from a Butterfly in the Garden by Ann Truesdell
 
The Dutchman hung up his breeches
and the tulips puckered up.
The dog’s tooth pierced a violet
while the sun poured butter into cups.
 
Little Jack in his pulpit,
spoke of a spirited soul renewed.
The bells rang out their splendor,
painted an exquisite shade of blue.
 
Spring beauty wrapped around me,
Mayflowers danced with the wind.
Blue-eyed Mary sat and wondered
on the magic that God does send.

Adrienne Dunkerley - Ann Arbor MI

The Overstory II, mixed media; matchbox, ribbon, monoprint, digital collage, .5 x 2.5 x 1 (closed); 9 x 7.5 (open)

Reference: The Overstory by Richard Powers

This matchbox book illustrates a short chapter in The Overstory describing the origins of life on our planet condensed into one day. The book is a one-page spiral accordion fold and contains 24 panels, one for each hour of the chapter. It begins with the big bang and life emerges well into the evening. The pages and the chapter culminate with the ominous arrival of humans in only the last 4 minutes.

The work is meant to illustrate the vastness of the universe and our comparatively tiny presence within it.

Laura Fawaz - Northville, MI

Goodnight Sun, photography on metallic paper, 8 x 10

Reference: Remain by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan 

I am a fan of Nicholas Sparks' books, and the movies that have come from those books. Part of what draws me to the author is the way he sets the scene in terms of visual surroundings and location. In Remain, the main character, Tate, who is an architect, designs a house for his good friend Oscar and his family in the neighborhoods surrounding Cape Cod. As you read the book, you can almost hear the waves coming from the Atlantic Ocean or feel the sand on the coastal beach. A large part of this story also has to do with the change in the character of Ren that happens at sunset.

Goodnight Sun and Grand Haven Beaches were taken of the Grand Haven Pier Lighthouse at sunset. Though not on an ocean coast, these photos remind me of Sparks’ book and the beauty of coastal beach towns such as Cape Cod with its iconic Nobska and Highland Lighthouses.

Laura Fawaz - Northville, MI

Grand Haven Beaches, photography, 20 x 24

Reference: Remain by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan 

In my collage years, I was always a fan of Nicholas Sparks' books, and the movies that came from those books. Then I met my now husband, who I came to find was a huge Nicholas Sparks fan, which only sparked (pun-intended) the romance. 

Of course my tastes have changed since collage. While I still enjoy Nicholas Sparks, I find romance novels too predicable, and prefer a mystery novel with some substance of a story line.

Then came a mash up of Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan, I was intrigued, but honestly, did not have my hopes up as I thought this mix would not mesh well. I ended up enjoying this book, so much so that I finished it in a day and a half.

Laura Gabriel - Orion, MI

Chinatown, Detroit style, mixed media, acrylic, paper-mache, glow forge, 12 x 12 x 3.5

Reference: Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir by Curtis Chin

I really liked that this book is a Detroit story, set at a time when I was growing up in the Detroit area. It brought back memories for me.

Beth Gonzales - Plymouth MI

Tea First, or Adventure?, stoneware ceramic, 2.5" w x 4" h

Reference: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

"“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” I always wondered, if I was invited to Neverland, would I go? My younger self was fascinated with Peter Pan; the adventure, the wildness, the flying. And this line, spoken by Peter in Chapter 3, just captures the decision so perfectly — the choice to stay in the mundane and familiar, or the chance to abandon it for flight and adventure.

I imagine these teacups (four for Peter and the Lost Boys, one for Wendy) to be a tea set forged in Neverland. Improvised tree stump mugs decorated with treasures picked up along forest trails like shells, leaves, or feathers. Wendy's birch bark cup is more delicate and refined, suggesting care and intention. Together, the cups hold the tension at the heart of the story. The pull between adventure and belonging, and the quiet cost of choosing to grow up."

Terri Haranczak – Canton, MI

The Yellow Wallpaper, mixed media collage: acrylic, paper, cyanotype, pen/ink, artificial flowers, 27.5" x 24" x 3"

Reference: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Based on the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, about a woman's descent into madness in the Victorian Era. I used several layers of paper to illustrate the woman living inside the wall. A beautiful tragedy of mental illness contrasted with the beauty of gold and excess.The main character was a wife and mother, bedridden and medicated by her doctor husband. I was inspired by the colorful imagery of the woman described living behind the wallpaper. A reflection, a hallucination? So many contradictions between what is real and what is not: the relationship between the woman and her family, her husband, and herself. So many questions I had to ask: Was she really sick? Who was that woman inside the paper? What made her this way? When will she be better? Her portrait is revealed in my work.

Shea Elis Heid - Northville MI

Quiet Emergence, collage, acrylic ink, acrylic paint, and modeling paste on paper, 22 x 30  

Reference: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

"Quiet Emergence was inspired by Valancy Stirling’s journey in The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. I was moved by Valancy’s transformation—from a hidden existence overshadowed by societal and family expectations to fully coming alive to herself and stepping into her own life. Her emergence into authenticity and self-discovery deeply resonated with me, reflecting my own journey of embracing a life true to who I am.

Valancy’s words struck me profoundly: “‘You see—I’ve never had any real life [...] I’ve just breathed. Every door has always been shut to me’” (p. 126) and “her soul was her own again” (p. 112). There is a quiet wonder in her new life as she explores the opportunities awakened to her: “She seemed to be living in a wonderful house of life and every day opened a new, mysterious room [...] She surrendered herself utterly to the charm of it” (p. 167).

The unfolding of one’s true essence carries a tender and sincere beauty. Through Quiet Emergence, I sought to visualize this subtle, transformative process—a space of becoming, moving gently toward light, curiosity, and the fullness of being."

Matt Krease - Saginaw, MI

A Tale From the Heart, oil on wood 16" x 16"  

Reference: A Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

The inspiration for this piece comes from the use of dark, ominous imagery that Edgar Allen Poe uses in his stories. I chose this story specifically, because I liked the imagery of the floorboards being able to be portrayed by actually cracking the painting surface itself. I felt it gave the piece a deeper meaning, and pulled the viewer in to a different dimension.

Angels BY B. H. FAIRCHILD

Elliot Ray Neiderland, home from college   
one winter, hauling a load of Herefords   
from Hogtown to Guymon with a pint of   
Ezra Brooks and a copy of Rilke’s Duineser   
Elegien on the seat beside him, saw the ass-end   
of his semi gliding around in the side mirror   
as he hit ice and knew he would never live   
to see graduation or the castle at Duino.
 
In the hospital, head wrapped like a gift
(the nurses had stuck a bow on top), he said
four flaming angels crouched on the hood, wings   
spread so wide he couldn’t see, and then
the world collapsed. We smiled and passed a flask   
around. Little Bill and I sang Your Cheatin’   
Heart and laughed, and then a sudden quiet   
put a hard edge on the morning and we left.
 
Siehe, ich lebe, Look, I’m alive, he said,   
leaping down the hospital steps. The nurses   
waved, white dresses puffed out like pigeons
in the morning breeze. We roared off in my Dodge,   
Behold, I come like a thief! he shouted to the town   
and gave his life to poetry. He lives, now,   
in the south of France. His poems arrive   
by mail, and we read them and do not understand.

Devon Mozdierz - Andover, NH

Windswept Landscape - Drift, oil on panel, 12"x12"

Reference: The Meadow by James Galvin

In the time I spent living in the Inland Northwest, I became fascinated by the expansive landscape and began reading the work of writers who were most familiar with it. Among them, the prose of James Galvin became an ongoing source of inspiration and influence, particularly in The Meadow, a 100-year chronicle of a high-mountain meadow on the Colorado-Wyoming border and the people who inhabited it.

In one moment, the emphasis is on the expanse of the horizon, and in another it is the all-consuming and at times, claustrophobic winter.

Devon Mozdierz - Andover, NH

Windswept Lanscape - Passage, oil on panel, 16"x20"

Refrence: The Blizzard Voices by Ted Kooser

The Blizzard Voices is a collection of poems from the perspectives of those who survived the Great Plains Blizzard of January 12th, 1888. One voice is that of a schoolteacher attempting to bring students home after the school runs out of fuel. “…so we set out walking, holding each other’s hands. It was impossible to see, but we followed a row of dead sunflower stalks, all the way to a nearby farm."

The sparse yet direct language struck me, prompting a series of paintings that explore these accidental markers in a vast winter landscape."

Cassie Nastase - Muskegon, MI

The Artist Inside - Compass & Dandelion, collage, 11x14 ea.

Reference: The Artist Inside by Cassie Nastase

The Artist Inside is an ode to my daughters whom guide and inspire me in finding the artist inside. This book and related collages are about innate creativity, wonder, joy, resistance, resilience, and purpose. It asks the audience to reflect on their definition of art and it encourages people of all ages to notice the beauty in that exists in unexpected places.

Dandelion & Compass are two of twenty-six collages in The Artist Inside. Each collage created represents a verse from the poem.

"It's there on the sidewalk, growing in the crack.
A dandelion waiting for a bee to come snack."
 
"Much like a Bridge between different lands.
A guiding compass - Art helps us understand."

Andrea Novak - Novi MI

Betrayal-The Legend of the Peacock and the Crow, oil and mixed media on paper and masonite, 24 x 48

Reference: Lao Folktales: The Crow and the Peacock by Dr. Wajuppa Tossa and Prasong Saihong

Many cultures share a legend of a time before birds had color. One story, from Lao, is of The Peacock & the Crow who, being friends, agreed to paint one another. The crow went first, painting his friend with beautiful details in the most vivid blues and greens. When the peacock saw his incredible beauty he was consumed by narcissism and, in turn, painted the crow a solid black hue.

You will notice the obvious “strut” of the confident and beautiful peacock as well as the sorrowful gaze of the betrayed crow but what may be less obvious is the deliberate painterly treatment of each bird. The peacock’s tail has been left “unfinished” to illustrate the idea of his body being a painted work of art. A slight trail of cobalt blue paint can be seen in a smeared trail behind the bird. The crow has taken a much different position: stuck somewhere between opaque and transparent; a shameful space between being seen and unseen. His bold, drawn outline and fresh drips of back paint make him a companion of the graffiti images painted on the surrounding walls.

M.A. Papanek-Miller - Chicago IL / Minnesota Northwoods

Preparing for Winter: "All Animals Are Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others." 2.3., mixed media drawing and collage on wood panel, 12" x 12"

Reference: Animal Farm by G. Orwell

One of my current series of art works in-progress is titled Preparing for Winter, which was initiated in 2018. This series of art works are in conversation with real and imaginary animals that are in dialogue with the specific animals in George Orwell’s book Animal Farm. Each subtitle in this series of art works is a direct quote from this book. My works employ humor and worry which evolves around Orwell’s cautionary story which is a gentle reminder of the dangers of political innocence.

Aleah Pieniadz - Northville, MI

Florida's Most Lovable Serial Killer, watercolor, 24x30

Reference: The Maltese Iguana by Tim Dorsey

Madcap Florida mysteries are some of my favorite books, and one of the best authors in the genre is Tim Dorsey who died in 2023. His last book The Maltese Iguana was his 26th title featuring Serge A. Storms (Florida's most lovable serial killer). This painting seeks to capture the quirky dark humor of Dorsey's books while paying homage to the vibrant state he wrote about, lived in, and (clearly) loved.

Linda Rimanelli Worful - Plymouth MI

Gods Speaks, acrylic relief, ink & sparkle acrylic on paper, 24 x 18

Reference: Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch

Inspired by the dialogic philosophy of Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch, this work is part of the series Between Worlds: Dialogues in Light, where received messages are translated into visual form through intuitive automatic drawing and layered mixed media. Like written conversations transformed into text, each piece evolves from inner dialogue into luminous color, symbolic design, and embedded language. Rooted in the book’s recurring message that love is the foundation of healing, this piece invites reflection on vulnerability and authenticity. The embedded text and luminous layering emphasize love not as sentiment, but as an active force that transforms perception and relationship. Together, these works reflect an ongoing visual dialogue — a translation of inner conversation into form, light, and layered meaning.This book was the catalyst for my own automatic writing & drawing journey.

James Rodriguez - Dearborn, MI

The Last Days of Pompeii, acrylic, 24 x 48

Reference: The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

The novel The Last Days of Pompeii taught me the meaning of compelling drama and the power of words to create images. The amphitheater, romantic couples, sculptured deities, servants, gladiators and nobles are all elements which the author featured prominently in the novel. Life in a noble bathing area seems ideal but on the eve of Pompeii's cataclysmic destruction there are hints of what is to come.

Carrie Ross - Novi MI

Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn, ceramic art,  11.5" x 10" x 7" each  

Reference: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

At thirteen, I was captivated by Gone with the Wind, especially Scarlett O'Hara and her iconic costumes designed by Walter Plunkett. Scarlett's strength, complexity, and timeless elegance left a lasting impression that inspired my Gone with the Wind ceramic purse collection.

Each purse is based on one of her iconic gowns: the delicate Prayer Dress, the romantic Twelve Oaks Dress, the somber Wedding Dress, the bold Curtain Dress, and the glamorous Red Party Gown. I carefully translated each dress's emotional tone, fabric detail, and symbolism into ceramic form-capturing innocence, envy, resilience, and power. Through this collection, I aimed to honor Scarlett's layered personality and the visual storytelling of her wardrobe, blending historical beauty with modern sculptural design.

Yun Shin - Clarksville, TN

633 Days, screenprint on paper 9"x12"

Reference: On Longing by Susan Stewart

I was inspired by Susan Stewart’s On Longing because it explores how objects can carry memory, emotion, and desire. In particular, her idea that “the memory of the body is replaced by the memory of objects” resonated deeply with my own artistic practice. Stewart’s discussion of the way objects mediate experience made me think about the emotional significance we invest in everyday items and how they preserve moments, relationships, and personal histories.

The interplay between objects, repeated actions, and anticipation is both ironic and compelling. I transfer ordinary objects onto two-dimensional surfaces to celebrate their emotional value, preserving memories and relationships. My work explores containment and preservation through objects that carry history and authenticity, connecting to personal biographies. By capturing quiet, ordinary moments, I emphasize ritualistic, repetitive acts that highlight the labor and time invested, making the hidden effort integral to each object’s significance and emotional resonance.

K K Sparks - Milford MI

Beatrice Awaits, photography based mixed media 12.5" x 15"

Reference: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

As The Divine Comedy opens, we find the narrator "midway through life's journey, lost in a dark wood, astray from the straight way". This universal theme speaks encountering loss and the quest to find our way through the darkness and into the light.

Rose Starke - Farmington Hills MI

Arranged Alphabet, watercolor & paint pens on paper, 22 x 28

Reference: The Story of Writing by Donaled Jackson

Being a calligrapher, the love of letters became easy for me. The emergence of the alphabet (page 26) gives a background about how our letters were formed.
Different countries, Rome, Greece and Egypt all had strong influences (page 38).

Soon styles were disseminated throughout Europe, Kings, clerks and educated men (page 111). We are still creating new styles of letters today

Jason Stout - Martin TN

Jettison Recovery, oil on canvas, 20x20

Reference: In Search of the Miraculous:Bas Jan Ader Discovery File 143/76 by Marion van Wijk and Koos Dalstra

Jettison Recovery, is from the In My Room Part II series.

The work is about dealing with loss, specifically of a mentor, while using the narrative of the loss of the artist Bas Jan Ader, who disappeared at sea while making what would be their final work.

“My work consists of paintings and drawings that examine the ideas of absence, loss, presence, and memory. The exploration of these ideas define notions of identity and self. Playing off of the inherent symbolism of objects familiar in art history and popular culture, the work uses objects and places that are both personal to the artist’s consumption and existence.”

Pat Vartanian - Novi MI

Defending the Castle, photo weaving, 24” x 18”

Reference: The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

The Castle in the Attic is a warm story about a 10 year old boy, a much lived housekeeper, a toy castle with a tiny silver knight. Magically, Will and the housekeeper become small and join the silver knight to fight against an evil sorcerer and a fire breathing dragon.

Kay Waterson - Flushing, MI

T-Rex Skull, acrylic paint markers, 16x20”

Reference: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

The inspiration for this piece came from the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton that stands in the lobby of the park entrance, and is an homage to the cover art of the novel itself.

Lori Zurvalec - Grosse Pointe MI

A Room of Our Own - A Collaboration, multi-media book, acrylic paint, watercolor, collage, ink, 14" x 11" x 1"

Reference: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Every page in this book has a collage created from a page in the book A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf.
 
This book began in 2019 but most of it was created during the Covid-19 pandemic. Confined to home with three other adults, the concept of a place of my own was provocative and generated the In Search of Space to Make Art poem.

In Search of Space to Make Art by Lori Zurvalec
 
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
- Virginia Woolf                             
 
Parentsboyfriendshusbandskids
extendedfamilyboomerangchildren
A woman’s reality:
shared space
 
rectangle                                                                                         sanctuary

four walls                                                                                     with a door
 
My room is four edges
sheets of paper where words quiver
canvases where brushstrokes dance
a sketchbook: solitude & inspiration
cats curled up beside me

The bird imagery in this book is a reference to the poem “Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson and my search for the hope through art and the connections we make to each other through art.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
 
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
 
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.