Bird Paintings

Sophia’s thoughts on the importance of birds can be understood

through her description of the painting Ancestral Ascent

“The motif is designed to draw the viewer out of ordinary time into sacred time.

Through image and ritual, we are ushered into a precious moment

when we can simultaneously look back in grateful remembrance of our ancestors and

look forward with a sense of our own future promise.”

The importance of birds in the painting Ancestral Ascent and many other paintings symbolize

our spirits taking flight, spiraling upward in an ascent

toward the sun and light, toward freedom and liberation from suffering and fear.

They accentuate our innate creativity

in rising up to meet the challenges and course of our lives.