“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” ― Twyla Tharp.

Here in Olympia, we have been sequestered at home for most of the year due to virus and smoke. Soon, winter weather will be added to that list. I cannot do anything about those but I can share some art and some hopes.

I am so excited to have the work of local artist, Sherry Buckner from Red Twig Studio, now hanging in my office space with some selected prints on site for you to browse and take home. Sherry is a true gem in our community. To learn more about Sherry and her screen print and chalk pastel work, check out: https://sherrybuckner.com/. If you want to see more of her work, in addition to my office, you can often find her pieces at Childhood's End Gallery in downtown Olympia.

I hope Sherry's art will take us out of ourselves, zoom break out rooms, and the spaces in which we've spent so much time (and are probably rightfully sick of being in) bringing our attention the wider world outdoors. I hope that it brings a bit of nature into spaces filled with masks, hand sanitizer and computer screens and with it some solace in knowing that to everything there is a season. At some point, the season of sequestering will change just like the leaves outside are beginning to do.