Experience Science and Art in a New Light

Discover a groundbreaking anthology that bridges the worlds of fiber art, poetry, and scientific understanding.

Born from the captivating exhibits at the Annual Geophysical Union meetings, this unique collection, co-edited by Dr. Kathleen P. Decker, Dr. Laura Guertin, and Betsy Wilkening, invites you to explore the unseen forces shaping our planet.

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.

Amazon

The Murder of Angela Dales - Twenty-One Years Later

$8.99

Click HERE to order on Amazon

When the mother of my oldest grandchild was murdered over twenty years ago, I never, in my wildest dreams, thought our tragedy would be the beginning of a series of national tragedies—an epidemic of gun violence. I never envisioned that Virginia would be the site of this country’s worst school shooting on April 16, 2007, leaving thirty-two dead and at least seventeen wounded.

I never imagined that I would be sitting on the Governor’s Commission to Investigate the Virginia Beach Mass Shooting of May 31, 2019, that left twelve dead and four wounded, or that, during my time on the panel, there would be other school shootings: one at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia and the other at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

I wrote the first edition of this book, thinking perhaps my words could help prevent other families from experiencing the anguish and pain my family had experienced.

I was wrong, sadly, terribly wrong.

Instead of working to keep guns away from people who are a threat to themselves and others, Virginia’s legislators have opened the floodgates for anyone to buy any sort of firearm.

In Virginia, there is a law that a convicted spouse abuser must turn over his or her gun to a neutral third party. But the same law prevents law enforcement officers from following up to see if the spouse abuser complied with the order. That is beyond the ridiculous. It is just plain stupid.

In Ohio, the legislature has passed a concealed carry law requiring no background check, no training, or permit to carry a gun. So, in the Buckeye state, a person can beat up a spouse, or maybe even use a weapon to threaten or kill that spouse, and then go right out and buy another firearm. This is madness!

The victims’ families want the truth, hoping to find justice through the facts. Unfortunately, they get lies; they get no truth and no justice. People in positions of trust and authority know no bounds to the extent they will lie to protect their careers and institutions.

To paraphrase John Steinbeck: the sharp pain of truth—being told your loved one has been murdered—can pass away; but the slow, eating agony of a lie never dies.