HEATHER WUNDERLICH

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This broadside was donated to the Granite School District Eduction Center.

Artist's Statement:

Like a tree, the Golden Rule develops most effortlessly when it grows from a belief system that is rooted in a respect for life. If one cannot conceive of harming an animal or denying help to a needy stranger, then how can one deliberately inflict pain on another person Roots, foundationally grounded in this respect for life, reach deep, sustaining the tree which will eventually grow to develop a canopy that shades and shelters us all. The symbols in this particular illumination include the ear with which we can listen to our won heart as it responds to the needs of others. The shell amplifies the sound of a compassionate heart and also provides a home protecting the creature inside it. The nest is a home built laboriously twig by twig with the sole purpose of cradling the eggs of a future feathered family. The flowers and peach symbolize nature and our responsibility to protect her, as it is nature that sustains all life. One of the flowers depicted is a Dicentra Bleeding Heart, again the heart. Y dog, Loomis, and the cow represent the animals we know and the animals we don’t, which, when harmed, suffer in equal amounts. The lion and the giraffe represent Africa , which, though far away, is our neighbor on earth and should be kept in our minds and hearts as though it wee our own children, our own land, our own blood that is shed.

Can you hear love? Can you hear compassion? Put out your hands. Do you hear the leaves rustling in the trees? Listen . . .