Weaver, NJ

NJ Weaver
Round Rock, TX

The Bigger Picture
Encaustic, oil pastels, kozo-shi paper, medal & milagros
July 2017

My participation in Build Hope, Not Walls was fueled by an online article on U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents targeting Austin bus stops for mothers and family members dropping off children for school. What should have started out as just a normal day of sending children off to school evolved into a memory of fear, uncertainty and a hunt for people at their most vulnerable.

What happened to the children of the mothers taken into custody that day? Was there anyone waiting to walk them back home? Who would explain to them why their mothers had vanished? Would they ever see her again? The mental and emotional replay of the “what if’s” I experienced after reading this article made my heart ache for weeks and continually question who we are as a nation and as people. How do we transcend from a world of intense exclusion and derision and transition to a world of peaceful inclusion and acceptance?

It is my belief that if the desire is great to create a better life for one’s self and family, there is no physical, mental, economic, or political barrier that exists that can prevent the completion of this goal. The image on one side of my brick for the BHNW Project evokes partnership and the joining of hands and like minds to compel change. I also include the image of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (Mother Cabrini), the patron saint of immigrants and refugees. Whatever path to higher power you may follow, calling for intersession for change is universal and ultimately, benefits all of us.