Community 16x20

The style of art that I used to create this piece is know as Ledger Art. Ledger art grew out of the boarding school period when Native American children were brought, mostly forced, from reservations and placed in boarding schools.

Many of these children would use discarded music sheets, discarded ledger paper or any other pieces of scrap paper to draw scenes about home, family, exploits from war, battles, important events, etc.

The history of this artistic expression brings me to the meaning of this piece.

This piece represent the Strength of a tribe, clan, society or community. The strength of that community starts at the most basic level: Family.

A tribe, clan, society or community is only as strong as the family. Something can divide a community but if the family dynamic is firmly in place that community can get through it.
The strength of a community can be seen in the relationships between mother, father, children and all the members of a family.