On first hearing the lyrical words of the prophet Isaiah telling of the Peaceable Kingdom to come—despite all the turmoil and suffering in the world, and all my anxieties and fears as a child—I felt hope for the future. There was power in the thought of the wolf and the lamb lying down together, the lion eating straw like an ox, and a child to lead.

As a teenager, I happened upon the Peaceable Kingdom paintings of Edward Hicks in the Philadelphia Art Museum and was elated! Here were Isaiah’s words made visible. It was only years later, after graduating college, that I first felt brave enough to create a Peaceable Kingdom of my own.

I felt uncomfortable about Hicks’ skewed depiction of Native Americans and European settlers. In creating my Peaceable Kingdoms, and in creating all my art, I always try to be aware of balance, equality and fairness. Especially now, in these uncertain troubled times.

Artwork