Near is the Night
Shining its last warm rays over the fields and foothills on Highway 87, a late fall storm creates a brilliant display of color which reflects off the Bearpaw Mountains.  My husband pulled over so I could take a picture and capture the sunlight bursting through the clouds, which I share with you in my favored mediums, watercolor and paper cutting.

Inside the paper cutting design, I have captured just a few of the animals and birds I have seen in my journeys- the pair of Sand hill cranes in the fields close to Lewistown, the fox that was playing with a mouse on the Lewis and Clark Trail, the flicker which flies overhead quite often and the jackrabbits that bounced from one side of the road to the other when my husband and I got lost in Utah.  When my mother and father came to visit, we saw the Stellar Jay on the Kootenai Canyon trail and the Scarlet Tanager while on a hike with my husband.   

Indicative of Scherenschnitte, I incorporate paper cutting, adding my PA Dutch (German) heritage.  As I explore and research my ancestors and their folk art, it gives me excitement and an added charge to be able to add my unique contemporary twist to this historic cultural era.  In this particular piece the paper cutting design is similar to stain glass, as I have always enjoyed the warm glow each color of glass casts on the floor and pews of a church or cathedral.