Family Tree

Flora Snowden

We forgot to
keep using
the swing,
rope wound
so sure round
willow wood
they learned
each other‘s fiber
Smooth wrist
held by
rough hands
Maybe the most honest
vows aren’t built by letters?
Maybe they grow together like skin

Tabitha Baber

Biography: I have been drawing and painting for a long long time, on and off. I find that sometimes art is the best way to explain the world to myself. It is therapeutic, and stressful at the same time, but so rewarding when something finally turns out the way I wanted.

Artist Statement: This is a painting of the Rainbow Pool in Yellowstone National Park. I went there once, and it was just the most awe-inspiring experience. The whole park was just boiling and angry, and yet so many creatures lived there. The strikingness of the landscape was unforgettable, so I decided to put those feelings to paint.

Flora Snowden

Biography: Flora Snowden is a senior studying English and creative writing. She is the recipient of two Academy of American Poets University Prizes and an Oregon State University Provost Literary Prize. She loves collaborating with peers on interdisciplinary projects and is a member of PRAx’s Reser Creative Scholars cohort. Her cat Shmoko is her greatest supporter.

Artist Statement: Thank you for reading; I hope that these words made you feel heard a little better. This is my favorite thing to do. Thank you for being one of the reasons I get to do it.