Nature's Whim

I have great respect for farmers who endure the uncertainty of mother nature and the punishing toll of physical labor. Farmers are never completely in control of their success; despite their efforts, they are subject to nature’s whim.

I think of the Dust Bowl Days, so powerfully portrayed in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, and I can almost feel the agony of dreams destroyed. Migrant farmers gave everything without certainty of anything in return. In this piece I wanted to depict the ever-changing power of nature. Both the abstract design and the bright colors were intended to represent nature’s chaotic energy.

“Nature’s Whim” is improvisationally pieced with hand dyed cottons and quilted with cotton, polyester and rayon thread.