Thelma's Hands
- Pastel
- 18 x 14 in
- Kathleen Lohr
"No other woman, farming the land, has experienced the isolation of an island existence more than that of the early settler of the great plains. The poem ""Island Woman"" from the anthology of poetry by Penny Niemi is the source of inspiration for the three submitted pastels by Kathleen Lohr. The portraits portray the hardship, sparse materialism and stark existence of the island woman. They reveal the deep-rooted character traits that lit the way as this woman steered through ""the choppy tides of change"" as Niemi describes in her poem. That this woman was able to persevere in a land of the unbroken horizon and remain unwithered under its blighting power is a credit to her ""waterfall of patience, harmony and love unconditional."" These traits persevere in the DNA of her descendants. The good life enjoyed by today's farm islander is owed in part to the wisdom of this early occupant who, from her unvisited grave, continues to speak and to be heard."
- Collections: Farm Island Anthology