VISUAL ARTIST:  CHRISTINA SCHUELER

About the art: “My illustration helps to tell the side-by-side narratives of Ayisha and Eric’s upbringing in the Willamette Valley. The image began with the visual motif of a geodesic dome—a structure the pair’s father built, but also a symbol of self-determination and the capacity to build one’s own future. From here, I worked to include elements of Ayisha and Eric’s individual stories as vignettes relative to the backdrop of the landscape. It was challenging to tell two different stories in one image, but grounding the various elements of their stories in the landscape as well as gathering further input from the storytellers helped me to connect the siblings’ two experiences.”

About the artist: Christina Schueler is an artist and illustrator living in Eugene. She creates images with watercolor, collage, and digital media that reflect on our relationships with landscape, other humans, and ourselves.