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A preview of the collection

The Art

Ten of the book’s forty works. They were made over nearly three decades by painters, muralists and fiber artists from New Orleans to Philadelphia, each answering the same song in their own way. Select any piece to see it larger.

A cloaked skeleton angel with a staff stands over a slain green dragon, beneath blue sunrays on a yellow sky; a beam of light falls from a golden disc. — The Vanquished
Flournoy Holmes
Atlanta, Georgia, 2021
Acrylic on paper
24 × 31 in

A long-haired figure painted in blue-grey tones with a pale halo, one hand raised, against a bright yellow ground scattered with graffiti marks. — like an angel, standing
Nathan Verwey (b. 1983)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
48 × 38 in

A wooden pier runs into a churning sea under swirling yellow and grey clouds, with a spiralling blue sun at the top of the sky. — Mira Mar
Marc Felton (b. 1990)
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
12 × 36 in

A large blue sun with flame-like rays over a green ground, surrounded by purple fish, red birds and patterned leaves. — They All Dance
Dennis Sipiorski
Covington, Louisiana, 1995
Acrylic on cotton linter
36 × 26 in

Pale dancing figures in ball gowns float on a black ground, linked by a looping golden thread and a sprig of blue flowers. — All This Life Was Just a Dream
Miriam Karp (b. 1954)
Atlanta, Georgia, 1997
Encaustic
24 × 18 in

A woman in a grass skirt climbs a palm tree above the tail fins of a green 1950s car; beyond are a motel sign, a surfer, flying saucers and a blue sun in an orange sky. — Wish You Were Here!
Dennis Larkins (b. 1943)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2023
Painted three-dimensional relief on panels
36 × 24 in

A long mural along a parking lot: bright green and yellow panels with stacked books and swirling blue and orange figures. — untitled
Nick Pearson
Atlanta, Georgia, 2024
Spray paint and marker pen on stucco wall
Wall sections of 3, 9 and 12 ft

Two women with dark hair and gold necklaces, painted in warm browns before a dark arch and a pale sky, shown in a gold frame. — Creole Women
John Preble
Abita Springs, Louisiana, 1997
Acrylic on canvas
15.25 × 19.5 in

Black-and-white embroidered portrait of a mustached man in a patterned cap and vest holding a guitar, with his name stitched below. — Robert Hunter (2023) · Jerry Garcia (2020)
Clare Butler (b. 1958)
Atlanta, Georgia
Individual embroidered portraits, cotton thread on cotton fabric
20 × 16 in · 16 × 20 in

Copyrights for all art shown on this page are held by the respective artists and are used with permission. Please don’t reproduce these images without the artist’s consent.

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