UMBRELLA
This piece was created for SeeSaw Gallery as part of the 2026 Shared Vision: The Sharon Prize group show. In 2023, I was a recipient of the Sharon Prize, a grant supporting women and nonbinary artists in Colorado. In 2024, I served as a juror. This group show at SeeSaw features finalists and recipients of the Sharon Prize since its inception in 2022.
UMBRELLA
A Black heron displays its umbrella/canopy feeding behavior, surrounded by fellow flora and fauna that can be found throughout the Chobe River watershed in Botswana. My late Aunt Colleen had a long career in international aid, working with the Peace Corps, USAID, and Doctors Without Borders in the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Sudan. She kept a wildlife checklist during a trip to Botswana, which was recently passed down to me. In it, she noted “Umbrella!” next to the Black heron, the inspiration behind this piece. Full species legend here.
36 x 36 inches; acrylic on birch panel. Thank you to Paul Wheatley for allowing me to study his videos of a Black heron for reference.