Spring Soirée, Kristin Gibby

Artist: Kristina Gibby Title: Spring Soirée Medium: Oil Price: $1,300 Dimensions:  24 x 18 inches Artist Statement: Echinacea was growing in our yard and in the wildflower patch by the road the day we moved into our home in Freeman, SD. Its blooms made it into the summer bouquets that brightened the meals in our dining room.  We’d visit it on walks and bike rides; marvel at the monarchs, yellow swallowtails, the bees, the spiders, and even the wasps. We’d wonder what was nibbling on the leaves.  During winter its sturdy stalks stood tall, the porcupine tops offering seeds for the birds that winter-over in our pine trees.  I learned to recognize the early growth of its broad leaves and anticipate their arrival each spring. To watch a world busily engaged in creating generations.  The same way her neighbors create generations of thought, culture, and beauty of their own kind. Blooming, pollinating, dying, and growing again from the work of the lives lived before.  What beauty, hope, and