Two of my large multi-panel paintings— “Anticipation Along the Platte River” and “Sandhills Blooms”— are now on display in a U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies exhibit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in west Africa. The program helps foster connection and collaboration by sharing art.

*“Sandhills Blooms” oil and cold wax on birch panels, 45”x30”, now on display in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, as part of the the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program.*

Last summer, a curator with the State Department emailed me asking whether I’d consider loaning pieces for the program. The new ambassador to Burkina Faso, Joann Lockard, was looking for artwork from states where she’d lived, and she’d spent part of her childhood in central Nebraska. I had many, many questions and had nearly forgotten that I’d submitted images to the State Department’s artist registry about 10 years ago, after Mary Zicafoose talked about the program as a facilitator in a professional development class hosted by Amplify Arts.

I shared about a dozen images with the curator and she and the ambassador chose two. Terry Koopman took high-resolution photos for me. In October, a crew with Atelier4 packed up the large pieces and drove them to New York. Months later they were shipped to Burkina Faso and will be on loan for three years before returning to my studio.

I’m so proud to be part of this program to help connect people across cultures, and I’m dazzled to be among all the phenomenal artists participating in this exhibit and those around the world.