The Maker

A woman kneels in the dirt amidst a fragrant garden. All around her grow flowers of many
kinds and colors: daffodils, orchids, amaranth, lillies of the valleu, forget-me-nots, roses, thistles,
tulips, calla lillies and more. Also in the garden are bushes and trees dripping with fruit: apples,
pears, oranges, lemons, mangoes, blueberries, strawberries... on and on they go, stretching out
seemingly forever.
And, as you look, you begin to see living animals amidst the greenery. Horse heads, feline
bodies, horns of cattle, birds' wings and beaks, wolf tails, all protrude from the forest of greenery,
along with that of stranger animals: the heads and necks of giraffes, the horns of rhinocerous,
unicorn horns, and others you cannot immediately identify.
In the foreground, the woman sits on her haunches. She wears a single drape of brightly-
colored cloth covering her body, one that shimmers with every color of the rainbow. A headband of
brightly-colored beads, clear, but reflecting a rainbow in each facet, holds back her gleaming auburn
hair, which is haloed by the sun in red and gold. Her short-fingered nails are caked with clay and
mud. A few splotches of the same material decorate her golden cheeks. Her skin is a deep golden tan
and gleams lightly in the sun.
One of her hands is open, with a tiny blue bird taking off from her finger. She watches it fly
upwards, a delighted and joyful smile on her face. Her gray eyes sparkle brightly as she follows the
path of its flight. Her other hand touches a snake-like shape formed out of clay. It is slowly
becoming a real snake where she touches it. It will not be long before it moves off to join the other
animals.
Next to the snakle are other animals formed of the clay and mud she has taken from a hollow
in the ground, all awaiting their turn for life.
The title is formed into the red pottery frame that surrounds the painting. "The Maker".