“Peace! Warrior Weaving” acrylic on canvas

I completed the painting below fairly recently, reminiscent of a past visit to Tumacacori. This ancient pottery is in a structure at the mission there. This was based on photos I had taken when sightseeing there a few years ago. It is located South of Tucson.

This is the fruition of my thoughts about refugees coming to Ellis Island. The basic concept is prompted by the experience of my mother's mother traveling from Russia to America on a steamer in the early 1900's. She and her sister left their parents and other siblings behind, traveling with one small child on their backs, to escape from the danger of being Jewish in a land controlled by the Tzar and the Bolsheviks. Although they never saw their family again, they were encouraged by them to flee from Russia. they had to sneak by the guards, who often shot down the Jews trying to leave. Under those circumstances, they made it to a steamship packed with others like them traveling in steerage. Grandma Tillie had told us her story many years ago. I am grateful for her courage, and her desire to gain American citizenship and learn to speak English well.

Here are the Russian peasants preparing to leave their villages out of fear of destruction. They left with heavy hearts hoping to find new homes in distant lands.