Since 2021, Dr. Guertin and Betsy Wilkening have been masterfully blending fiber art with critical scientific topics like global warming, climate change, and environmental threats, all while offering potential solutions. In 2024, Dr. Decker proposed an innovative expansion: a multimodal ekphrastic project that pairs powerful poetry with evocative art.

 

This book is the stunning result. You'll find a diverse array of artwork—from exquisite fiber art quilts to compelling drawings, paintings, and even museum pieces—each carefully selected to illuminate the theme of "making the unseen, seen" and to forge a powerful connection between science and art through the medium of poetry.

 

We strongly encourage you to delve into the Artist/Scientist Statements at the back of the book. These illuminating insights provide brief, accessible explanations that enhance the thoughtful poems, making complex scientific topics relatable and engaging for everyone.

 

It has been a true joy to bring this project to life. We hope you'll return to these pages again and again, discovering new layers of meaning with each reading.

 

Contributors to this book include: Donald Beagle, Emily Bilman, Joyce Brinkman, Sarah-Beth Bradley, Megan Brown, Emma M. Burkett, Samantha Carr, Joan Ellen Casey, Loralee Clark, Tricia Coulson, Marcela Bianchessi da Cunha-Santino, Dr. Kathleen P. Decker, Zoey Dudding, Jae Dyche, Christie King Eckardt , Kerry Faraone, Catalina Florina Florescu, Anna Isabella Fratarcangelo, Chapman Hood Frazier, Dennis Owen Frohlich, Gail Giewont, Dr. Michale Glennon, Marjorie Gowdy, Jody Gruendel, Dr. Laura Guertin, Cathy Hailey, Lauren Haygood, Kate Hedstrom, Wayne David Hubbard, Mark Hudson, Piper Jameson, Robert J. Keeler, Dr. Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, Barbara Martina Linde, Sally Harcum Maxwell, Greg McNamara, Susan Copley Novack, Holly Panzera, Sarah Parker, Tessa Peixoto, Suzanne Underwood Rhodes, Lynne Schreiber, Mattie Quesenberry Smith, Ron Smith, Alica Swain, Johannes Vermeer, Betsy Wilkening, Diana Woodcock, Nicole Zwolinski.

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Finding Francie is a memoir about a year in the life of a very naïve and adventure loving young woman the year after she graduated from college in June, 1965.
 
Like so many of her fellow graduates, she was graduating without a job, car, or financial savings. Her college roommate Barbie, had done the responsible thing. Since she had her elementary teaching certificate, she began immediately applying for teaching positions even before graduation. She was hired by a school district in Simi Valley, California. She tried her best to convince Francie to move with her to California.
 
At the same time, Francie’s boyfriend Mike was beginning medical school in Chicago. Mike’s suggestion was a much more practical one. He thought Francie should move back to Kansas City, live with her parents and visit him every few months or so. If she was in Chicago, he said she would be a “distraction”.
 
Clearly she was feeling pulled in several directions. It wasn’t until late August when her summer job ended that she finally made a decision. She was going to take a risk, move to California and let the chips fall where they may. She wrote Barbie a letter explaining her decision, packed her backpack and was on the train heading west before you could blink an eye. Little did she know what laid ahead in California, however.
 
She was beginning an adventure that no one could have predicted.