I love exploring symbols.  I began thinking about symbols when teaching elementary education, along with being a new mom.  Seeing my child and my students relying on the very same symbols I remember using as a child was exciting to me.  Happy houses… suns in the corner.  They started finding their way into my art.  See my website Gallery, where the Photoanalysis series I have been developing is on display.

“Thunderbirds Through Time” 11 x 30” Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

The Thunderbird is a powerful Native American symbol. This painting explores many depictions left behind of this important icon from prehistoric to modern day.

Petroglyphs are rock carvings found in the region in which I live and are very old, some dating up to 10,000 years old. Thunderbird images utilized in this artwork are found at many sites in my area. Several used in this painting are found at Deer Medicine Rocks, Montana and The Dinwoody Site in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming. The powerful force of the Thunderbird was later revisited by the Ford Motor Company, as the logo for their Thunderbird.

The shield represented is Sioux. A painted rawhide shield, it is representative of the owner’s dream vision of a thunderbird.